A couple of weeks ago the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Shohei Ohtani to the largest contract in MLB history. Now they’ve added one of his Japanese countrymen to another historic deal.
According to multiple reports, the Dodgers have signed right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 12-year, $325 million deal. The deal is the largest in MLB history for a pitcher, exceeding Gerrit Cole’s record $324 million deal, and Yamamoto has never even thrown a pitch in the big leagues.
Los Angeles will also pay a $50.6 million posting fee to the Orix Buffaloes on top of their investment in Yamamoto. Factoring in Ohtani and fellow new acquisition Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers have now committed more than $1 billion in new player salary this offseason.
Yamamoto earned the monster deal thanks to his mind-boggling numbers and sky high potential. The 25-year-old has posted video game numbers in Nippon Professional Baseball, recording a 1.82 ERA in seven professional seasons, and he has also won MVP and the Sawamura Award (Japan’s equivalent to the Cy Young) each of the past three seasons.
Scouts view Yamamoto as a ready-made ace, the kind of talent that rarely hits the open market, especially so young. Now he’s set to anchor a Dodgers club that also boasts Ohtani, Glasnow, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Yamamoto had multiple $300 million offers on the table, including from the New York Mets and New York Yankees. The Mets’ offer was believed to be for $325 million as well, while the Yankees reportedly offered $300 million. The Red Sox were among the other clubs in the bidding, but it’s not known at this time what their offer for Yamamoto was.
Passan also reported the deal has a pair of opt-outs and a $50 million signing bonus, but unlike Ohtani’s contract, none of Yamamoto’s money will be deferred.
With Yamamoto off the board, it is expected MLB’s free agent market will finally begin to move with more urgency. For the Red Sox, the likely next step is a pivot to some of the other remaining free agent starters still available, a group that includes Jordan Montgomery, Blake Snell, Shota Imanaga, Lucas Giolito and others.