Teams had the chance to start talks with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a 25-year-old pitcher who many think has the potential to be a staff ace, when the Orix Buffaloes posted Yamamoto for MLB free agency.
Of the few frontline starters available, Yamamoto, Blake Snell, and Aaron Nola made up the majority of the market. The Los Angeles Dodgers and other teams expressed interest in signing Nola, but he swiftly re-signed with the Philadelphia Phillies to a seven-year, $172 million contract.
The St. Louis Cardinals signed Sonny Gray to a three-year, $75 million contract after that.
According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Yamamoto may sign for $300 million as a result of strong interest:
Executives estimate that signing Japanese starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto might cost the signing team as much as $300 million, including the posting fee. Yamamoto is perhaps the most sought-after free agent in history, at least among big-market clubs.
Yamamoto was expected to sign a $200 million contract with an MLB team according to initial estimations.
Joel Wolfe of Wasserman, Yamamoto’s agent, stated that his client had drawn more interest than any other athlete he could recall at the beginning of free agency.
In 24 starts this season, Yamamoto went 17-6 with a 1.21 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, and 176 strikeouts for the Buffaloes. In addition to earning three MVP Awards in a row to cap out his career in Japan, Yamamoto also won the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) equivalent of the Major League Baseball (MLB) Cy Young Award for a third straight year.
Teams that have been linked to the right-hander include the Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Dodgers, New York Mets, New York Yankees, and San Francisco Giants.
Timeline of Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s free agencyDuring his free agency, Yamamoto has 45 days to negotiate and sign a contract with teams. He has until January 4, 2024, at 2:00 PM Pacific Time.
The Yankees are said to have stated that they believe they are the favorite, despite the Giants having lately been mentioned as perhaps having taken the lead in the Yamamoto sweepstakes.
As the Winter Meetings draw to an end, Yamamoto is anticipated to start meeting with teams the following week.