Report: Shohei Ohtani Recruited Tyler Glasnow to Dodgers amid MLB Trade Rumors

Two-way star Shohei Ohtani may have been a Los Angeles Dodger for less than a week, but he's already helping out his new team.

Ohtani helped recruit right-handed starter Tyler Glasnow to the Dodgers by sending him a video encouraging him to join the team, according to The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya and Ken Rosenthal.

In the video, Ohtani expressed regret that he wouldn't be pitching alongside Glasnow next season as he sticks to designated hitting during his recovery from Tommy John surgery, according to Ardaya and Rosenthal.

"But I want to hit some home runs for you," Ohtani told Glasnow, per Ardaya and Rosenthal.

The Dodgers are now finalizing a five-year, $135 million contract that will bring Glasnow to Los Angeles, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Ohtani was also present during the Dodgers' meeting with Japenese free agent pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto earlier this week, per Ardaya and Rosenthal.

According to Passan, the Dodgers are not deferring any money in Glasnow's deal, as opposed to the $680 million deferred from Ohtani's record-breaking $700 million deal.

That means that some of the money that would have gone to Ohtani can go to Glasnow. That might be precisely the scenario Ohtani was envisioning when he agreed to his $2 million-per-year salary in the first place.

Glasnow has been limited by a series of injuries over his past several seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays, including undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2021. The 120 innings he pitched for the Rays in 2023 were the most he had seen in any single season of his eight-year career.

When healthy, however, Glasnow is one of the most dominant aces in the league. In 21 appearances during the 2023 season he increased his career strikeout rate to 11.5 per nine innings, ranking second among starters with 500-plus innings, per Passan.

If he can stay healthy, Glasnow could be a game-changing addition to the Dodgers' rotation as Ohtani recovers.

It remains to be seen if Ohtani will be as successful in adding also adding Yamamoto to this pitching lineup.

The 25-year-old has established himself as a star in the Japanese league and is expected to become a starter in the MLB, garnering attention from more places than just Los Angeles. In addition to Ohtani and the Dodgers, Yamamoto has also reportedly met with teams including New York Mets, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies.