Shohei Ohtani urged to recruit Team Japan WBC teammate and NPB MVP to Dodgers originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Simply put, the Los Angeles Dodgers have done a tremendous job of scouting international talent in Asian countries, specifically Japan.
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In the last three offseasons, they signed last year’s World Series MVP, starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and one of the best hurlers in Nippon Professional Baseball history, Roki Sasaki.
Yamamoto and superstar designated hitter Shohei Ohtani are teammates on the Dodgers and at this year’s World Baseball Classic for Team Japan. However, there are several other star players on Japan’s roster that Major League Baseball fans are less familiar with.
Some of them are the best talent NPB has to offer and could make the transition to the Major Leagues in the United States sooner than later. The Dodgers could target one of the two MVPs from last season.
Ohtani could recruit 40 home run third baseman to join Dodgers
Teruaki Soto won 2025 Central League MVP honors after hitting 40 home runs with a .924 OPS in 139 games last season with the Hanshin Tigers. He made his debut in 2021, leaving him with less than nine years of experience in NPB.
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The Tigers could agree to post Sato as early as next offseason if they accept a request to MLB from their third baseman.
“Teruaki Sato will be a big leaguer. It’s a matter of when, and not if,” FanSided’s Mark Powell wrote last Wednesday. “While Sato’s aggressive approach could get him in trouble against MLB pitchers who tend to take advantage of that sort of thing, he also has raw, unmatched power in NPB.
Sato certainly has the talent to receive a sizeable Major League contract. Ohtani may have already put in a good word for him, as Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy may reach free agency after the 2027 season.
“Sato could be one of Ohtani’s top recruiting targets at the WBC because of his power, and the lineup protection he’d receive in Los Angeles,” wrote Powell.
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