The Dodgers kept adding to their offseason collection on Tuesday, as the Dodgers reportedly have agreed to a deal with free agent right-handed reliever Kirby Yates.
Originally a backup plan if the Dodgers failed to land left-hander Tanner Scott, Yates is the third reliever the Dodgers have brought in, and it will be Yates’ seventh team in his big league career.
These recent moves were made in light of an injury surrounding right-hander Michael Kopech, who is dealing with forearm inflammation and is expected to miss the first month of the 2025 season, tweets Bob Nightengale of the New York Post.
There is no structural damage with Kopech’s forearm, just inflammation, so the Dodgers plan to be cautious with him at the season’s outset. https://t.co/jjV5dttyzf
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 21, 2025
Kopech was one of the better relief pitchers in all of baseball once he was acquired by the Dodgers at last year’s trade deadline, as he posted a 4-0 record with a 1.13 ERA, which ranked 13th among all pitchers that threw at least 20 innings over the final two months of the regular season.
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The Dodgers have seemingly gotten whoever they desired to get in free agency this offseason, leaving many fans of the other 29 teams upset with the Dodgers, even insinuating that the Dodgers might be ruining the game of baseball with their spending spree.
2024 postseason hero and current free agent Jack Flaherty was quick to clear the air on the situation and added his own take on what the Dodgers have done this offseason via his Twitter.
A certain team is not ruining baseball
A lot of other teams are just doing very little— Jack Flaherty (@jflare_) January 21, 2025
Not every team has the financial bandwidth to afford the type of offseason the Dodgers have had, but it when looking at teams like the Minnesota Twins, Miami Marlins, and San Diego Padres— they’ve spent a combined $0 in free agency this offseason— organizations that are looking to upgrade their teams clearly aren’t the ones that are leaving a blemish on the sport.
On Tuesday, the great Ichiro Suzuki was announced as one of the newest members elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame, becoming the first Japanese-born player to be inducted in Cooperstown.
Shohei Ohtani spoke on what Ichiro meant to him after securing his 57th stolen base of the 2024 season, passing Ichiro for the most stolen bases by a Japanese-born player in MLB history, per Chuck Schilken of the Los Angeles Times.
“He is somebody I admire and look up to,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton after matching Ichiro’s mark in September.
Ohtani will inevitably join Ichiro in Cooperstown once his illustrious career is all said and done.