PHOENIX – Yoshinobu Yamamoto will loom large in Los Angeles Dodgers franchise lore forever. Of course, that doesn’t make him stand any taller than his fellow pitchers who stood above him when they took part in fielding drills Saturday morning as part of a daily spring training ritual.

The 5-foot-10 Yamamoto is always reaching for more, though there’s only so much higher you can climb after what he conquered over the course of a legacy-defining October.

The reigning World Series MVP is now etched into history. His consecutive complete games and ability to come back on zero days’ rest in the decisive Game 7 against the Toronto Blue Jays is the stuff of legend. Once met with raised eyebrows after receiving the richest contract ever for a pitcher before throwing a single major league pitch, Yamamoto has little to prove.

“People know how talented, how good he is,” manager Dave Roberts said.

So what comes next? Yamamoto said he spent time poring over the scenes his performance and the Dodgers’ Series-clinching win generated. He shook his head at the notion that he was now a hero. There are still bars for him to clear, even for a man who, at 27, has checked a lot of boxes.

He has already won a World Baseball Classic with Japan, but will pitch again this spring as the ace to defend his home country’s crown. He’s won the World Series in both of his seasons in the majors, serving as the through line in the Dodgers’ rotation for both postseason runs. He’s now coming off a season where he made 30 starts, logging a 2.49 ERA while being the hardest pitcher in baseball to hit with his .183 opposing batting average.

“I was able to get into the offseason with a great feeling,” Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. “I was also able to spend this offseason with a little more purpose.”

That purpose isn’t that hard to find. No Japanese pitcher has ever won a Cy Young Award. Only Yu Darvish (2013, 2020) and Kenta Maeda (2020) have even finished second. Yamamoto finished third in 2025, a finalist behind Paul Skenes and Cristopher Sánchez, with aims to finish higher.

“He wants to be great,” 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. Every time he takes the ball, he expects to win, we expect to win, and then you sort of look back at the season and see where you’re at.”

He also has competition close by. Shohei Ohtani is set to start his first full season as a two-way player in a Dodgers uniform after coming off his first rehab-free offseason in years. Blake Snell could have a delayed start to the season, but he already has two Cy Young awards on his mantle. Tyler Glasnow has always brimmed with talent, even if he hasn’t made more than 22 starts in a season in his career.

Yamamoto has three Sawamura awards (Japan’s Cy Young equivalent) to his name and has already accomplished something the others haven’t — or, in the case of his Game 7 heroics, might not be physically capable of doing.

It’s still too early to see what remnants there might be from Yamamoto’s short-rest efforts last October. Same for the 211 total innings he logged in 2025, which represent a career-high. Add in the uncertainty that comes with more high-stress innings in the World Baseball Classic this spring, and Yamamoto’s arm health is a point of focus.

Yamamoto took November off completely from throwing before starting his ramp-up for the Dodgers and Samurai Japan. When the Dodgers’ pitchers and catchers reported for camp Friday, Yamamoto was the first pitcher to take the mound to face hitters.

“Right now, it’s actually better than a normal offseason,” Yamamoto said.

The Dodgers are hoping to somehow get even more out of their budding ace. It’s hard to blame them.

“Yoshinobu is up for anything,” Roberts said, before quipping, “clearly.”