Fans Lose It as Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto Has Dinner with Top Free Agent Munetaka Murakami: “They Can’t Keep Getting Away with This”

Los Angeles Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto was seen having dinner with Munetaka Murakami, one of the top free agents on the market.

Fans Lose It as Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto Has Dinner with Top Free Agent Munetaka Murakami: “They Can’t Keep Getting Away with This”

Munetaka Murakami and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Image via Instagram/@kenshiro_saito/MLB)

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Is another top Japanese name heading to the Los Angeles Dodgers? On Wednesday, LA Dodgers star Yoshinobu Yamamoto was seen having dinner with Munetaka Murakami. The 26-year-old is one of the top free agents and is expected to play in the MLB in the 2026 season.

On November 7, Murakami was officially posted to the MLB by the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. All 30 teams in the MLB have time till 5 p.m. on December 22 to try and land the hot-hitter to their teams. If he remains unsigned at that point, his window will be closed and he will return to the Swallows in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) of Japan.

Murakami has been one of the best hitters in Japan in the past few years. The 6-foot-2 has hit 246 home runs in 892 games. His 56 home runs in the 2022 season broke a record for the most home runs hit by a Japanese born player.

Due to injuries, he only played 56 games in the 2025 season. He did manage to hit 22 home runs and had 47 RBIs with an OPS of 1.043.

As per reports, the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, the Philadelphia Phillies, the San Francisco Giants and the Boston Red Sox are considered favorites to land him. The Dodgers are not said to be in the running for him at the moment.

However, a photo of their pitcher, Yamamoto and him has caused some outrage among fans on social media. In the picture shared on social media, the two Japanese stars could be seen enjoying dinner together at a restaurant in Los Angeles. The free agent was reported to be in town along with his agent, Casey Clase, to meet with teams and discuss contracts.

The two of them have shared a rivalry in the NPB in recent years. Murakami won the MVP Award in back-to-back seasons in the Central League in 2021 and 2022. Meanwhile, Yamamoto won the MVP Award in the Pacific League in three successive seasons from 2021 to 2023. Both of them would also win the Triple Crown in their respective leagues.

MLB fans react to Yoshinobu Yamamoto having dinner with Munetaka Murakami

Two of Japan’s finest players, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Munetaka Murakami, spent some time together recently in Los Angeles. This development led to some MLB fans losing it on social media.

Munetaka Murakami and Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Munetaka Murakami and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Image via Bleacher Report/MLB)

While the Dodgers are not reported to be clear favorites in the race for Murakami at the moment, fans were left worried as the player had dinner with Yamamoto. While some labelled that as “tampering“, one user on X expressed their concern and wrote, “they can’t keep getting away with this.“

Check out some fan reactions regarding this from X below:

Following the signing of two-way star Shohei Ohtani, the team landed Yoshinobu Yamamoto on a 12-year, $325 million deal. Last offseason, they added another top Japanese name in Roki Sasaki.

The young pitcher drew interest from several clubs. In the end, he picked up the Dodgers as his new club and joined them in 2025.

While he claimed the stability of the Dodgers as a reason to sign with them, he did mention the names of Ohtani and Yamamoto. So the fans are a bit worried that Murakami may end up joining the LA-based side following his meeting with the 2025 World Series MVP.

Top Japanese star wants to take down Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani in MLB

Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani repeated as World Series champions this year as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays to claim their 2nd successive title. A top Japanese pitcher now wants to take down the Dodgers’ superstar duo in the MLB.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Image via MLB)

Apart from Munetaka Murakami, another high-profile Japanese name that is trending is Tatsuya Imai. The pitcher, who has been posted in the league, made it clear that he wants to go after the two of them and come out on top.

Imai is coming off an impressive campaign in the NPB. The 27-year-old went 10-5 with a 1.92 ERA while playing for the Saitama Seibu Lions. MLB teams have time till January 2 to try and land the right handed pitcher.

Yamamoto and Ohtani both had strong campaigns in the 2025 season. While the two-way star claimed his 4th MVP Award, Yamamoto was named the World Series MVP following victories in Games 1, 6 and 7. The two players are now aiming for a three-peat of the World Series crown in 2026.

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