(Los Angeles) The Los Angeles Dodgers have finalized details on a 12-year contract with right-handed pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, adding to their prolific off-season that also saw the team land free agent Shohei Ohtani.
The Dodgers have not revealed the value of the contract, announced Wednesday, but several media outlets have indicated that it is an agreement worth US$325 million. The contract would be the largest and longest ever guaranteed to a major league pitcher.
Aged 25, Yamamoto was of interest to several teams after choosing to leave the Orix Buffaloes during the off-season. The Dodgers, who aren’t afraid to spend and don’t have the best pitching rotation, gave him this huge contract after landing star Ohtani and right-hander Tyler Glasnow earlier this month.
Yamamoto’s statistics have been spectacular in recent years in the world’s top Japanese league. He won three straight MVP awards in the Japan Pacific League.
He was 16-6 with a 1.21 earned run average (ERA). He struck out 169 batters and allowed just 28 walks this year, winning the pitching triple crown by leading his league in wins, strikeouts and ERA.
The Dodgers were in dire need of quality pitchers. The Dodgers won 100 games even though the oft-injured Clayton Kershaw was their only starting pitcher to pitch more than 125 innings or post an ERA below 3.75.
Yamamoto and Glasnow will be immediate additions to the team’s rotation, while Ohtani is not expected to pitch during the 2024 season, following a second offseason elbow surgery.