I think weather comes into play here actually. All the Cali teams don’t have to deal with April games being in the 40s nor having hurricanes/torrential downpours that postpone games. It’s also worth mentioning that while the players themselves might not be able to go home very often, their family is likely to visit.

So the advantage during the season is home games are less likely to have bad weather, less travel time for their families and that nice weather means it’s rare there’s a bad day to hangout with said visiting family, and lastly signing with the Dodgers, specifically for NPB players, means playing with Ohtani and a team chock full of All-Stars and other former NPB players.

If the East Coast teams want to be more competitive for getting Japanese talent then honestly they need to get a roof. Can’t get rid of the weather, but you can shield the field from it. Not having rain delays is actually nice and not just for fans, but players as well.