Report: Dodgers to introduce Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Wednesday
The center field plaza area of Dodger Stadium was filled to the brim with media, many from Japan, when Shohei Ohtani was introduced as the Dodgers’ newest star on Dec. 14.
In the spirit of Hollywood, one good production always deserves a sequel.
According to the Japanese-language media outlet Sponichi, the Dodgers are set to introduce Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Wednesday at 3 p.m. The team has not made an official announcement about the press conference since Yamamoto agreed to sign with the Dodgers on Thursday.
The timing of the press conference would make sense. Ohtani’s introduction also came at 3 p.m., a convenient time for fans watching in Japan:
An official announcement of the contract is seen as a formality. Yamamoto, 25, faced a Jan. 4 deadline to sign under the terms of the posting agreement between Major League Baseball and NPB, the top league in Japan. In addition to the Dodgers’ record $325 million outlay to Yamamoto, they owe his NPB team, the Orix Buffaloes, $50.6 million.
Gerrit Cole set the previous record contract for a pitcher in terms of total value when he signed a nine-year, $324 million contract with the New York Yankees. Masahiro Tanaka’s $155 million contract with the Yankees set the previous record for a Japanese player posted to MLB. The introduction of Yamamoto is sure to attract international attention.
More than half of major league teams reached out to Yamamoto’s camp after he was posted in November. The Dodgers and New York Mets submitted identical final bids, but the allure of playing for the Dodgers alongside another Japanese superstar in Ohtani won out in the end.
Yamamoto dominated NPB over the last seven seasons. He was voted the winner of the last three Sawamura awards, Japan’s version of the Cy Young award. In 897 career innings with the Buffaloes, Yamamoto has a 1.82 ERA. Last season the right-hander had a 1.21 ERA in 164 innings, ending with a complete game one-hitter in the Japan Series.
The Dodgers must announce a corresponding 40-man roster move when Yamamoto’s contract becomes official.
Photo Credit: Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports
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