GLENDALE, Ariz. — Coming off one of the best postseason performances in recent memory, capped by a World Series in which he earned MVP honors after being the pitcher of record in three of the Dodgers’ four wins, Yoshinobu Yamamoto has already established himself among the greats in franchise history after just two seasons.
But asked on Saturday whether he considers himself a Dodgers legend, Yamamoto just smiled and shook his head.
“Nothing has changed,” Yamamoto added with a laugh through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda on Saturday.
Yamamoto’s incredible performance on baseball’s biggest stage confirmed that he is one of the game’s superstars — a status that, arguably, he held before even throwing a pitch in the Major Leagues. When he signed with the Dodgers in December 2023, Yamamoto was already a superstar in Nippon Professional Baseball, where he won three Eiji Sawamura Awards — the equivalent of the Cy Young Award — and three MVPs.
To go along with all his accolades, Yamamoto brings an understated confidence every time he takes the mound. He emerged as an ace in 2025 following a solid big league debut in ’24, and the Dodgers only expect him to keep building on his success.
“He’s just such a good competitor. He takes care of himself, but he wants to be great,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He wants to win a Cy Young. He hasn’t done that yet, so that’s a carrot. But I think he prides himself on being consistent and being really good.”
Yamamoto faces a new challenge in 2026 in that he is coming off the heaviest workload of his Major League career. Between the regular season and the postseason, he threw a combined 211 innings. This offseason was shorter than usual because he will pitch for Samurai Japan in the World Baseball Classic, leading the defending champion’s rotation.
Taking his ensuing responsibilities into consideration, Yamamoto took a methodical approach to the offseason. He did not throw for most of November. He worked to gain some weight. Once December came along, Yamamoto felt refreshed, and he resumed training as usual.
“After my last game, the WBC was four months away, which felt very short. At first, I wondered if I could recover, rebuild my body and get mentally ready in that time,” Yamamoto said in Japanese. “But once I started moving again, my condition was good, and I felt like I’d be fine.”
With the Classic in mind, Yamamoto is even a little ahead of where he might normally be after throwing to hitters during Friday’s first official pitcher and catcher workouts.
“I thought he looked good,” said catcher Will Smith, who faced him. “He was doing what Yoshi does, mixing.”
Winning MLB’s top pitching honor after taking several home in NPB would be quite the career accomplishment for Yamamoto.
“I want to pitch in a way that earns recognition worthy of such a prestigious award,” Yamamoto said in Japanese.
The Dodgers’ postseason rotation of aces — Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Ohtani — was their greatest strength when they successfully defended their World Series title last November. They built off what each of them did on the mound, stacking quality performance after quality performance.
When healthy, any one of those four arms could feasibly contend for the Cy Young. Snell already has two. Yamamoto and Ohtani are close, which could make for some friendly competition. And as they vie for a common goal — both as individuals and as a team — perhaps that would make the two of them, and the rotation as a whole, even better.
“I think that it’s probably not something that guys talk about between themselves, but I’m sure it’s something that they’re both chasing because that means you’re the best pitcher in that particular league,” Roberts said. “I remember from the other side, [Clayton] Kershaw and [Zack] Greinke here with the Dodgers in ’14, ’15, whatever it was. I think that made both those guys better.”
A lofty comparison for both Ohtani and Yamamoto to live up to, but a fitting one, as they have established themselves as two of the defining stars of this era of Dodgers baseball.
