Fans might be overlooking key detail with Dodgers' next possible Japanese target

Any time an NPB player does something incredible, Dodgers fans' ears prick up.

LA doesn't have a monopoly on Japanese players — just look at Munetaka Murakami, Kazuma Okamoto, and Tatsuya Imai, who all went elsewhere in the offseason — but it's no secret that they're favored by Japanese baseball fans. Murakami, Okamoto, and Imai were all NPB standouts, but their fame paled in comparison to Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki's when they came to the Dodgers.

The latest to attract eyes in the States is pitcher Haruto Takahashi of the Hanshin Tigers, who has been on an unbelievable run. On Wednesday, he pitched a complete game shutout with zero walks allowed and 10 strikeouts.

Per Yakyu Cosmopolitan, one of the leading English-language NPB voices on Twitter, Takahashi has three straight complete game shutouts, four shutouts in five starts, has thrown 32 scoreless innings, and has a 0.21 ERA on the season.

Dodgers fans love to point to a guy like that and say "future Dodger" — but there are a lot of reasons we should slow our roll.

Takahashi is already 30, and the Dodgers' roster is already quite old. He's also been pretty severely injured throughout his career. He looks great when he's right, but the last time he pitched up to 25 starts was 2019. He threw 16 in 2020, 13 in 2021, didn't pitch in 2022 or 2023, 15 in 2024, and 11 in 2025.

NPB pitcher Haruto Takahashi already has Dodgers fans salivating, but there's a catch

The fact that Takahashi has already pitched four complete games shutouts this season is a miracle. With an injury history like his, it's hard to believe that his arm hasn't completely fallen off yet. The Dodgers' rotation is already littered with injury risks as it is.

The Dodgers were one of the first major league teams to invest in Asian scouting, so no doubt they have their eyes on a number of not just NPB but high school players in Japan, but Takahashi may not be one of them.

Shota Imanaga and Okamoto both came over at age 30, and Rockies pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano was 35 when he signed with the Orioles, so it's impossible to rule out Takahashi moving over to MLB completely. But, given the circumstances, it's hard to see the Dodgers trying to lure him.

Not to worry, though. No doubt they'll find the next big thing sooner rather than later.

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