Japanese Star Yamamoto Signs With Dodgers For 12 years, $325M

Get our free mobile app

Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Los Angeles Dodgers agree on a 12-year, $325 million contract, sources told ESPN on Thursday, ending a frenzied free agency with the largest deal for a pitcher in years and value in Major League Baseball history.

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.

Yamamoto, who has a pair of opt-outs in the contract, will receive a $50 million signing bonus, sources said. Unlike Ohtani's deal, in which $680 million is deferred 10 years out, Yamamoto's contract does not contain any deferred money.

The deal, which is pending a physical, comes after a wild 48 hours in which the Dodgers outlasted the New York Mets, who offered a similar contract, and the New York Yankees, who were long the favorite but ended up offering $300 million, sources said. The Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox, and Toronto Blue Jays were in the bidding, too, but couldn't overcome the Dodgers, who have now accounted for more than half the spending across MLB in free agency this winter.

Over 820⅓ innings, he has posted a 1.65 ERA, struck out nearly five times as many hitters as he has walked, and allowed one home run every 28 innings. Dodgers president Andrew Friedman, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, Giants president Farhan Zaidi, and Chicago Cubs president Jed Hoyer were among the executives who traveled to Japan this year to see Yamamoto in person.

Yamamoto's agreement, which was earlier reported by ESPN's Buster Olney, beats Gerrit Cole's $324 million guaranteed from the Yankees by $1 million.