The Los Angeles Dodgers are one of 12 MLB teams getting a chance to convince Shoki Oda that they’re the major league team that could lead him to make an unlikely decision.
Oda is an 18-year-old Japanese right-handed pitcher, and guys that age in his home country almost always stick around to play in Nippon Professional Baseball first.
Oda seems intent on coming straight to an MLB organization, and he’s pursuing that path this offseason.
His latest step in figuring out what comes next was a visit with the Dodgers, and it gives them a chance to land the phenom.
Dodgers Shoki Oda Update
Dylan Hernandez of the California Post shared an update in an article on Saturday about the Dodgers’ visit with Oda.
It sounds like the Dodgers had a three-man group meet Oda at his high school in Yokohama — and the meeting went for three hours, longer than other meetings.
This is what Hernandez wrote:
The Dodgers sent a three-man envoy to Yokohama High School on Saturday to meet with Japanese teenage right-hander Shoki Oda.
The face-to-face meeting lasted more than three hours, according to Japanese news reports, which pointed out that Oda’s talks with representatives of other major-league organizations were in the one- to two-hour range.
Representing the Dodgers were vice president of player personnel Galen Carr, adviser Yogo Suzuki and scout Toru Sugiura. Oda was accompanied by his mother and Yokohama High baseball coach Hiroaki Murata.
Carr later told reporters that he considered Oda to not only be the best 18-year-old pitcher in the world but also the most talented pitcher to come out of Japan since Roki Sasaki.
Oda is known to have previously met with the Yankees, Rangers, Blue Jays, Phillies, Mets, Cardinals and Tigers. He is expected to meet with 12 MLB teams.
Oda’s still got a big decision to make, but the Dodgers appear to be firmly in the mix.
Why Shoki Oda Decision Would Be Surprise
Oda is a high school right-handed pitcher from Yokohama High School in Japan — where high school baseball is as big as an amateur sport can get.
The 18-year-old righty was drafted by the Yomiuri Giants in the first round of the 2026 NPB Draft, which was held in October. It was already known at that point that Oda wanted to come to MLB, but the Giants hired Hideki Matsui as their manager to try and serve as more persuasion for the young pitcher.
Oda began meeting with MLB teams on Nov. 4 — and it would be close to unprecedented if he signed with a major league organization stateside rather than beginning his pro career in Japan.
Dodgers Get Major Shoki Oda Update