One billion dollars. That’s how much the Los Angeles Dodgers have spent this offseason on a pair of Japanese free agents.
Following the acquisition of coveted two way star Shohei Ohtani on a 10 year $700M contract, LA has reportedly now inked fellow countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 12 year, $325M contract.
The deal, which is still pending a physical, is the largest deal for a pitcher in terms of both length and value in Major League Baseball history. In addition to the $325M owed to Yamamoto, the Dodgers will also shell out a $50.6M posting fee to his former club, the Orix Buffaloes.
With an AAV of a little over $27M, the 25 year old hurler will be tied to the Dodgers through his age 37 campaign. While the exact details of his contract have yet to surface, it’s believed that Yamamoto will receive a $50M signing bonus, and have a pair of opt out clauses built into his new deal. Unlike Ohtani’s deal, none of his salary will be deferred.
The Japanese righty was one of the most coveted names on the free agent market this winter, and had drawn serious interest from the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, Phillies, Giants, Blue Jays, Cubs, and Red Sox. When his new deal becomes official, Yamamoto will narrowly edge out Gerrit Cole’s $324M contract for the most guaranteed money for a pitcher by $1M.
Having accumulated a 70-29 record with a 1.82 ERA and 922 K’s in the NPB Japanese league, Yamamoto had little left to prove across the Pacific. He was a 5x NPB All-Star, and won the Japanese Triple Crown (x3), Pacific League MVP (x3), Sawamura Award (x3), Best Nine Award (x3), and was a Pacific League Gold Glove winner 3 times as well.
In addition to his two no hitters, he’s also represented Japan multiple times internationally, winning an Olympic Gold Medal, World Baseball Classic Gold Medal, and WBSC Premier 12 gold medal as well.
His arsenal features a 99 mph fastball, a split-fingered fastball, and a looping curveball. He rarely gives up home runs, surrendering one roughly once every 28 innings, and strikes out five times more batters than he walks throughout his professional career.
Simply put, he has everything a scout could want out of a front of the rotation starter.
Standing only 5’10” tall and weighing in at a reported 176lbs, Yamamoto isn’t built like your prototypical ace. Instead, much like Ichiro before him, he relies on a unique stretching/body weight regimen to increase his flexibility, thereby allowing him to generate more “whip” on his pitches than his peers.
This routine has also allowed him to largely avoid any kind of major injuries throughout his professional career thus far as well.
Despite rapid interest from teams such as the Yankees and Mets, Yamamoto ultimately opted to sign on the west coast where he’ll have a built in support system with Ohtani and his entourage to help ease the transition into the North American lifestyle.
When the deal is officially announced, the Dodgers will have accounted for more than 50% of ALL spending this offseason across Major League Baseball. Which means that 2024 truly is shaping up to be a “World Series or Bust” type season for the LA based ballclub.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Kenneth Han. I, the copyright holder of this work, release this work into the public domain. This applies worldwide.