Originally published by DodgerBlue.com
The Los Angeles Dodgers and Yoshinobu Yamamoto reportedly reached an agreement on a 12-year, $325 million contract following a highly-followed and anticipated free agent process.
Yamamoto joining the Dodgers pairs him with former teammate Shohei Ohtani after their 2023 World Baseball Classic title run earlier this year for Team Japan. He also provides the Dodgers with a front-of-the-rotation starter for the forseeable future on an already loaded roster.
In signing the 25-year-old, it puts another star on a historic offseason for president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and the Dodgers as they’ve allocated nearly $1.2 billion to Ohtani, Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow.
As part of the process for signing an international free agent, the Dodgers are required to pay his Nippon Professional Baseball club a posting fee that’s just north of $50 million, per Jeff Passan of ESPN:
The deal, for which Los Angeles will pay an additional $50.6 million posting fee to Yamamoto’s previous team, the Orix Buffaloes, pushed the Dodgers’ free agent spending this winter to more than $1 billion, following the 10-year, $700 million contract they gave to Shohei Ohtani, Yamamoto’s countryman.
The fee going to the Orix Buffaloes is the largest under the current posting format that began in 2017, but falls shy of the record $51.1 million the Boston Red Sox paid to the Seibu Lions in 2006 when they signed Daisuke Matsuzaka.
Yamamoto deal as reported is the largest in MLB history for a starting pitcher, edging out Yankees’ ace Gerrit Cole’s deal by $1 million in total value and three years.
What does Yoshinobu Yamamoto mean for the Dodgers rotation?
Yamamoto fills a huge hole within the Dodgers’ rotation because of his ability to become their immediate No. 1 option. His addition takes a load of pressure off of Walker Buehler in his build up from Tommy John, and also Bobby Miller, who earned a spot in the heart of the group.
The Dodgers’ latest big signing has shown the ability to pitch deep into games, notching 15 complete games since the 2020 season with the Buffaloes in NPB. However, because he’ll be transitioning to MLB, the Dodgers may be cautious with their newest ace.
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