So apparently, the rich can get even richer, as not even a week after trading for Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers land their future ace (at least until Shohei can pitch for them next season), inking Japanese superstar Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 12-year, 325 million dollar contract which is the richest contract of any pitcher, nonetheless of someone who’s yet to throw a pitch in the MLB.
Along with this contract, Yamamoto inked a 50 million dollar signing bonus and no deferrals, so he’s getting his money ASAP! The 25-year-old flamethrower tore up the NPB last season, pitching to the tune of a 16-6 record with an ERA of only 1.21, striking out 169 batters in only 164 innings. He also threw seven innings of two hit shutout ball in the WBC, which alerted the whole world of his talents (and got himself a bag and a half, to say the least)
Yamamoto slots in as the ace of the now World Series favorites in the Los Angeles Dodgers, with Walker Buehler, Tyler Glasnow, Bobby Miller, and likely Ryan Yarbrough behind him for 2024, before adding Ohtani for 2025. This team was already filthy enough; now, if they weren’t the juggernaut of the MLB, they most certainly are with Yamamoto signed up until his age-37 season.
Yamamoto wants to win and be a vital piece of a championship team, and I believe that with LA landing Shohei, it was only a matter of time before he came home as he got the same deal offered to him by the New York Mets yet chose to go to LA. It just had to be the Dodgers, who are set up to terrorize the National League for years to come.
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