Dodgers to Sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto for 12 years, $325 Million: Reports
The Los Angeles Dodgers continue to dominate the 2023-24 offseason. It only cost them a billion dollars.
On Thursday, the Dodgers reached an agreement with Japanese pitching sensation Yoshinobu Yamamoto on a 12-year, $325 million contract, according to multiple reports. That would make him the highest paid pitcher in franchise history (other than two-way star Shohei Ohtani), and break Gerrit Cole’s previous record for any pitcher by $1 million.
Jack Curry of YES was the first to report the agreement.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan originally reported the terms of the agreement, and Andy Martino of SNY reported the New York Mets matched the financial outlay before Yamamoto agreed to sign with the Dodgers.
Yamamoto, 25, was viewed by some evaluators as the best starting pitcher on the free agent market. Some scouts view him as the best pitcher to emerge from Japan, at least this season if not ever. Now, it appears he’s coming to the Dodgers on a blockbuster deal — one week after the Dodgers introduced Ohtani, his WBC teammate from Team Japan, whom they signed to a 10-year $700 million contract.
The Dodgers were able to leverage unprecedented deferrals in Ohtani’s contract to aggressively upgrade their roster. They will pay Ohtani only $2 million every year for the life of his deal, then $680 million spread over the next 10 years. Yamamoto’s deal reportedly does not include any salary deferrals, but does include opt-out clauses:
The Japanese superstar faced a Jan. 4 deadline to sign with a major league team under the terms of MLB’s posting system with NPB, the top league in Japan. More than half of major league teams reached out to Yamamoto’s camp after he was posted in November.
As the process went on, seven teams were widely reported to be finalists. The Dodgers and the two New York teams were seen as the frontrunners. Earlier Thursday, the San Francisco Giants were informed their final offer would fall short, leaving the Dodgers, Mets and Yankees as the final three suitors.
In the end, Yamamoto went with the Dodgers in one of the highest-stakes contracts in franchise history.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto Scouting Report
Yamamoto is just 25 years old, and has dominated the NPB in Japan for the last seven seasons. He’s won three straight Sawamura awards — the NPB’s version of the Cy Young — and has a career 1.82 ERA in 897 innings.
Last year, Yamamoto pitched 164 innings to the tune of a 1.21 ERA and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 6.3.
He ended his NPB career with a 138-pitch, complete-game, one-hitter in which he struck out 14 batters to keep his team’s season alive in the Japan Series.
Yamamoto has a fastball, curveball, and splitter, and has absolutely filthy stuff that makes him virtually unhittable at times.
Dodgers Starting Rotation With Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Yamamoto will instantly become the ace of the Dodgers’ staff, and be in that position for a long time. At just 25 years old, he will headline the L.A. rotation for the foreseeable future.
In 2024, Yamamoto will headline a Dodgers rotation that includes the recently acquired Tyler Glasnow. Additionally, the team will be welcoming back Walker Buehler, with Bobby Miller and Emmet Sheehan ready to take on bigger roles in their second full seasons.
Ohtani played a big role in recruiting Yamamoto to Los Angeles, similar to how he recruited Glasnow to L.A. The Dodgers are not expecting Ohtani to pitch until 2025 as he recovers from elbow surgery.
What’s Next for the Dodgers Following the Signing of Yoshinobu Yamamoto?
The Dodgers have now signed the two most coveted players in free agency, in Yamamoto and Ohtani. They were not merely two best players of this year’s class. They also have the potential to become two of the best players ever to come out of Japan.
The Dodgers also added Glasnow, shoring up a rotation that desperately needed the help. As of right now, the 2024 rotation looks like this:
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto
- Tyler Glasnow
- Walker Buehler
- Bobby Miller
- Emmet Sheehan
The Dodgers could still look to upgrade their No. 5 starter spot, preferably with a left-hander. Each of their top five starters is a right-hander.
However, with more than $1 billion now committed to Ohtani and Yamamoto, the Dodgers might pivot their focus to the trade market rather than pursuing additional free agents.
For now, the Dodgers have cornered the two best players on the free-agent market, putting together a star-studded roster ready to dominate for years to come.
Photo Credit: Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports
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WOO-HOO!
12 years?!?!?! Why not go 10 years and $325 mil? No way he makes it to 37 with his small frame. 35 was really pushing it….
who cares if he pitches when he’s 36-37? They simply spread the bucks out over 12 years. If he’s still producing in those last two years its a bonus.
It doesn’t matter if he pitches at 36-37. The money over 12 years lowers the annual cost making the huge contract a bit easier to take annually
My head is kind of spinning. I was really just hoping for Giolito and Montgomery to round out the rotation. May and Gonsolin will be back eventually, with May a lot sooner of course. And what about Kershaw? If he plays it will surely be in Dodger Blue.
Then there’s Sheehan, Grove, Frasso, Knack, Stone, and several others lower down (Hurt, Ryan, Bruns,…). Looks like it’s time to make a trade(s). It seems to indicate that they will have to let Buehler walk after next season.
In 2025 it’s Yamamoto, Ohtani, Glasnow, Miller, and who the heck knows. If Miller is the real deal, it will surely be the best rotation I’ve seen in my lifetime for any team. In the blink of an eye “ITFDB”.
Where does Kershaw fit in the picture as Dodgers need a solid, proven left-hander?