Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a three-time MVP winner in Japan’s Nippon league, landed a 12-year, $325 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Topline
Just over a week after the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Japanese sensation Shohei Ohtani to the biggest contract in MLB history, the Dodgers made waves once again, signing Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto on a 12-year, $325 million contract, making him the highest-paid rookie and highest-paid pitcher in league history.Key Facts
Yamamoto’s contract, which still hinges on a physical, includes a $50 million signing bonus and a $50.6 million posting fee to his former team, Japan’s Orix Buffaloes, ESPN reporter Jeff Passan first reported.
That payout puts the 25-year-old right-hander’s rookie contract ahead of a group of Japanese players who arrived in the MLB to big paydays, including Shohei Ohtani (one-year, $2.3 million with the Los Angeles Angels), Yu Darvish (six-year, $60 million with the Texas Rangers), Masahiro Tanaka (seven-year, $155 million with the New York Yankees) and Daisuke Matsuzaka (six-year, $52 million with the Boston Red Sox).
It would also top Korean pitcher Hyun Jin Ryu, who debuted with the Hanwha Eagles in South Korea’s KBO League, and landed a six-year, $36 million contract in his first year with the Dodgers in 2013, before signing a four-year, $80 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2020.
