Just over a week after the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Shohei Ohtani to the richest contract in Major League Baseball history, more than 10 teams (including the Dodgers) have made offers to acquire Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Analysts predict the contract will be worth $300 million (about 43 billion yen), making Yamamoto the highest-paid rookie in Major League history.
In the 2023 season, Yamamoto pitched 171 innings for the Orix Buffaloes and posted the best ERA of 1.16 among all teams. In November he announced that he would challenge MLB.
Last week, an MLB analyst said Yamamoto has been approached by several MLB teams about contracts worth more than $300 million.Jim Bowdensays Marino Pepen.
That means the 25-year-old right-handed rookie’s contract amount is higher than that of former Japanese MLB big names, Shohei Ohtani (1 year, $2.3 million, Los Angeles Angels) and Yu Darvish (6 years, $60 million dollars, Texas Rangers), Masahiro Tanaka (seven years, $155 million, New York Yankees) and Daisuke Matsuzaka (six years, $52 million, Boston Red Sox).
This is also a Korean pitcher who debuted with the Hanwha Eagles of the Korean KBO League, signed a six-year, $36 million contract with the Dodgers in 2013, and signed a four-year, $80 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2020. , even surpassing Hyun-jin Ryu.
More than 10 teams are in the running for Yamamoto, including the Dodgers, Yankees, Red Sox, New York Mets and San Francisco Giants, Yamamoto’s agent Joel Wolf told Fox Sports.
Pittsburgh Pirates general manager and former Red Sox general manager Ben Sherrington praised Yamamoto’s ability in an interview with The Athletic, calling him “worldwide outstanding” and said he is considering World Baseball in 2023 .・He cited as an example the pitching he displayed as a member of the Japan Classic (WBC) against Australia, where he allowed just one hit in four innings.
Yamamoto, currently 25 years old, made his Japanese professional baseball debut in 2017 after graduating from high school, and has maintained a sub-3.00 ERA every year since the following year when he established himself in the first team. In six seasons, he has a brilliant record with a 1.82 ERA, a winning percentage above 70% and has won the Sawamura Award (equivalent to MLB’s Cy Young Award) three times. Yamamoto’s path to the MLB is similar to that of Japanese pitchers Darvish and Tanaka, as well as outfielder Ichiro, who joined the Seattle Mariners in 2001 and won American League MVP and Rookie of the Year honors in his rookie year.
Not every pitcher who crossed the Pacific Ocean from Japanese professional baseball found success in the MLB. Matsuzaka signed a six-year, $52 million contract with the Red Sox in 2007, but had only one season with an ERA under 3.00, in 2008, when he pitched 167 2/3 innings and posted a 2.90 ERA.
700 million dollars. That’s the amount Shohei Ohtani will receive in his 10-year contract with the Dodgers. But the two-way superstar decided to put off receiving all but $20 million until 10 years later. Under the terms of the contract, Ohtani will receive $2 million annually for the next 10 years and $68 million annually between 2034 and 2043. Analysts believe this is a way to give the Dodgers a chance to sign others free agents.
(Original text from forbes.com)
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