The Los Angeles Dodgers reportedly agree to a historic deal with Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto
The Dodgers have agreed to a 12-year, $325 million contract with pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported, citing unnamed sources.
According to Passan, the Dodgers will pay an additional $50.6 million in release fees, and Yamamoto’s contract is the largest pitcher’s contract in MLB history, $1 million more than New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole’s contract.
The 25-year-old was signed as a free agent by the Orix Buffaloes of Japan last November and moved to Major League Baseball (MLB) this offseason.
Yamamoto impressed early in his career, winning the Sawamura Eiji Award (given to the best starting player in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB)) three times.
Last season, he went 16-6 with a 1.21 ERA and won his third straight Triple Crown (wins, ERA and strikeouts) in the NPB Pacific League.
The right-hander, who excelled with a fastball in the mid-to-late 90s, also found success on the international stage, helping his country win a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics and then the World Baseball Classic in March.
Yamamoto joins Superstar Shohei Ohtani who reportedly signed a historic 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers earlier this month.
The Dodgers reportedly spent more than $1 billion on free agents this offseason.
CNN has reached out to the Dodgers’ agent and Yamamoto but did not immediately receive a response.
CNN’s Ben Church also contributed.
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Source: edition.cnn.com
2023-12-22 09:53:16
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