Los Angeles Dodgers agree to historic deal with Japanese pitching sensation Yoshinobu Yamamoto, per reports
By Jacob Lev, CNN
(CNN) — The Los Angeles Dodgers’ offseason keeps getting better and better.
The Dodgers have agreed to a 12-year, $325 million deal with Japanese pitching sensation Yoshinobu Yamamoto, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, citing unnamed sources.
According to Passan, the Dodgers will pay an additional posting fee of $50.6 million and Yamamoto’s deal is the largest for a pitcher in MLB history, beating New York Yankee pitcher Gerrit Cole’s contract by $1 million.
The 25-year-old made the switch to Major League Baseball (MLB) this offseason after he was posted as a free agent by Japan’s Orix Buffaloes back in November.
Yamamoto impressed during the early part of his career, being awarded the Eiji Sawamura Award – given to the top starting pitcher in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) – on three occasions.
He was 16-6 this last season with a 1.21 ERA and won his third consecutive Triple Crown – in wins, ERA and strikeouts – in the NPB’s Pacific League.
The right-hander, who boasts a fastball comfortably in the mid-to-high 90s, has enjoyed success on the international stage as well, helping his country win gold at the Tokyo Olympics, before clinching the World Baseball Classic in March.
Yamamoto joins superstar Shohei Ohtani, who signed a reported historic 10-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers earlier this month.
The Dodgers have now spent over a reported $1 billion in free agency this offseason.
CNN has reached out to the Dodgers and Yamamoto’s agent but did not immediately hear back.
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CNN’s Ben Church contributed reporting.
