Japan’s Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivers a pitch during the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Yamamoto, the most prized pitcher on the free-agent market, has agreed to a $325 million, 12-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to multiple reports. AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee
LOS ANGELES — Prized free-agent pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to a $325 million, 12-year contract, according to multiple reports.
Yamamoto is set to join Japanese countryman Shohei Ohtani with the Dodgers, who signed the two-way superstar to a record $700 million, 10-year deal last week.
The Dodgers did not confirm the agreement with Yamamoto on Thursday night. MLB.com and ESPN were among the outlets citing anonymous sources in reporting the deal.
The New York Yankees and New York Mets were among the many clubs that pursued Yamamoto.
It’s the third major pitching coup for the NL West champion Dodgers this offseason. In addition to Ohtani, the team signed right-hander Tyler Glasnow to a $136.5 million, five-year contract after he was traded from the Tampa Bay Rays to Los Angeles.
Ohtani made a video pitch to Glasnow to join him in Hollywood.
“It was important to Shohei that this wasn’t the one move we were going to make,” Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman said at Ohtani’s introductory news conference last week.
Yamamoto was 16-6 with a 1.21 ERA this season, striking out 169 and walking 28 in 164 innings. He is 70-29 with a 1.82 ERA in seven seasons with the Orix Buffaloes. Yamamoto struck out a Japan Series-record 14 in a Game 6 win over Hanshin on Nov. 5, throwing a 138-pitch complete game. Orix went on to lose Game 7.
Orix posted the 25-year-old right-hander on Nov. 20 and Major League Baseball teams had until Jan. 4 to sign him.
Yamamoto’s deal with the Dodgers would be the largest and longest ever guaranteed to a big league pitcher.
Ohtani was a two-time AL MVP with the Los Angeles Angels before becoming a free agent this offseason and moving to the Dodgers.
Yamamoto pitched his second career no-hitter, the 100th in Japanese big league history, on Sept. 9 for the Buffaloes against the Lotte Marines. The game, watched by MLB executives, extended his scoreless streak to 42 innings.
A two-time Pacific League MVP, Yamamoto also threw a no-hitter against the Seibu Lions on June 18 last year. His fastball averaged 95 mph and topped out at 96.6 mph in Japan’s semifinal win over Mexico at the World Baseball Classic in March. He threw 20 fastballs, 19 splitters, six curveballs, six cutters and one slider in a 3 1/3-inning relief outing. Batters swung at 11 of his splitters and missed four.
Following hard-throwing 21-year-old sensation Roki Sasaki, Yamamoto gave up two runs and three hits in 3 1/3 innings with four strikeouts and two walks, allowing Alex Verdugo’s RBI double. Yamamoto was charged with a second run when Isaac Paredes hit an RBI single off Atsuki Yuasa.
Under the MLB-NPB agreement, the posting fee will be 20% of the first $25 million of a major league contract, including earned bonuses and options. The percentage drops to 17.5% of the next $25 million and 15% of any amount over $50 million. There would be a supplemental fee of 15% of any earned bonuses, salary escalators and exercised options.
TIGERS: In an AL Central that appears to be wide open, Detroit added Shelby Miller to its pitching staff following deals with Kenta Maeda, Jack Flaherty and Andrew Chafin.
“He has the pure stuff to pitch at the very back end of our bullpen,” Tigers President of Baseball Operations Scott Harris said after the deal with the 33-year-old right-hander was announced.
“He has the versatility to pitch multiple innings if we need him to and he has the mentality to do whatever A.J. needs to help us wins,” Harris added, referring to Manager A.J. Hinch.
Miller is guaranteed $3.25 million and the deal includes a 2025 team option and performance bonuses that could be worth up to $11 million over two seasons if he closes regularly.
Miller was 3-0 with one save and a 1.71 ERA in 35 relief appearances and one start for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season, striking out 42 and walking 19 in 42 innings.
He didn’t pitch for the Dodgers from June 15 to Aug. 31 because of neck pain.
His fastball averaged 93.7 mph last season and Miller increased his fastball usage to 59% from 48% while dropping sliders from 47% to 17% and developing a new splitter he used 24% of the time. The splitter averaged a 31.4-inch vertical drop.
“We did a lot of work watching a lot of video from the 2023 season, and his mix is very different now than it was even as recently as 2022,” Harris said. “It helps him play that north-south game that plays to both right-handed hitters and left-handed hitters.”
Selected 19th overall by St. Louis in the 2009 amateur draft, Miller was an All-Star with Atlanta in 2015. He is 41-58 with a 4.08 ERA in 11 seasons with the Cardinals (2012-14), the Braves (2015), Arizona (2016-18), Texas (2019), the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh (both 2021), San Francisco (2022) and the Dodgers. He sat out the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
Making a push to improve in what appears to be a winnable AL Central, the Tigers exercised outfielder Mark Canha’s $11.5 million option, and reached agreements with Flaherty ($14 million for one year), Maeda ($24 million for two years) and Chafin ($4.75 million for one year).
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.