Giants Scouting Yoshinobu Yamamoto Reignites Dodgers Rivalry Amid MLB, Yankees Rumors

The San Francisco Giants and fans endured another disappointing season in 2023 that saw them in playoff contention late before fading and missing the postseason for the second straight season.

As bad as that is the fact that the team oftentimes felt irrelevant.

The organization has already taken steps to ensure that does not happen again this season. They fired manager Gabe Kapler at the end of the regular season and, amid reports from USA Today's Bob Nightengale that the New York Yankees and Mets, and hated rival the Los Angeles Dodgers are set to pursue Japanese righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto, have sent their own scouts to check in on the 25-year-old sensation.

The Giants need starting pitching help. The team did not have a consistent starting pitcher with an ERA under 3.00 this season. While Logan Webb was very good for them at times, and Alex Wood showed flashes, the team needs consistent play on the mound to compete against the Dodgers.

Yamamoto was brilliant in 2023, compiling an ERA of 1.14, and a WHIP of 0.860, and gave up just 22 earned runs and only two home runs all season.

Acquiring him not only bolsters a rotation that badly needs a genuine ace but also keeps him away from a rival Dodgers team that, too, needs pitching help.

Los Angeles won the NL West and 100 games almost despite its pitching, which was then exposed in dramatic fashion in the playoffs when Arizona put up 19 runs in three games against Clayton Kershaw, Bobby Miller, and Lance Lynn.

Yes, the Giants are still in need of bats, especially if they hope to keep pace with a Dodgers squad that has Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts leading an offensive juggernaut.

Good pitching can slow those bats and turn what was a 6-7 record against Los Angeles into a favorable record that allows them to be more competitive in a division that also has a young Diamondbacks squad that figures to be a playoff contender for years to come following their NLCS appearance this season.

There will be other options available, such as Cy Young favorite Blake Snell, but none of them have the youth and promise of Yamamoto.

Bring him on board, let him work out the kinks early like his friend and fellow countryman Kodai Senga did with the Mets in 2023, and benefit once he starts sitting batters down and putting his teams in position to win.

The result should be a Giants team that begins to re-establish itself as a force in MLB rather than an afterthought, which it was far too often this past season.