"He simply wanted to be a Dodger and play with Ohtani" - MLB insider bares possible reason behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto's $325,000,000 Los Angeles move

The dust is settling on the news that Yoshinobu Yamamoto has agreed terms with the LA Dodgers on a 12-year, $325 million contract. The Dodgers now have a team that looks ready to challenge for the World Series in 2024, and the magnitude of their winter spending spree is something to behold.

With the smaller market teams watching on in morbid fascination, fans of the biggest franchises must be horrified at the speed with which the Dodgers have done their business.

Yamamoto was being chased by several big teams, and if it came down to money, the consensus was that the New York Mets would be willing to offer the highest sum.

As the Mets reportedly offered the same deal and the New York Yankees a higher average annual value, there must have been another factor that influenced the decision.

Jon Morosi of MLB Network shared an update on Friday morning:

"I was told simply by a source who knows the Japanese baseball scene very well... Yamamoto simply wanted to be a Dodger and play with Ohtani, in no particular order.

"The Mets offered the same deal. The piece of the deal that we don't know just yet is when the opt-outs happen. That is really important because, as we've seen in many significant transactions in recent years, having those opt-outs and when they fall tend to dictate a lot of the leverage points of the deal and where the risk is."

Ohtani's $700 million contract is the biggest in sports history, while Yoshinobu Yamamoto's $325 million is the most ever for a pitcher. With this in mind, their performances, and the Dodgers' in general, will be closely monitored in 2024.

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Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto will be under pressure in 2024

With the LA Dodgers agreeing on contracts with two players for a total of $1.025 billion, there are going to be a lot of eyes on them next season. Adding to that, they extended Tyler Glasnow to a five-year $136.5 million deal after landing him via a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto will be under significant pressure to hit the ground running in 2024. Considering that he has never pitched in the MLB before, this long-term contract comes with more risk than Ohtani's, who was a force with the LA Angels.

There will be little time for settling in, as if the Dodgers do not get off to a good start, you can guarantee that fans and the media will be deafening. It will certainly be interesting to see how they deal with the pressure in 2024.