Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the former ace of the Orix Buffaloes of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league, is everybody’s top target in free agency.
MLB teams were expecting concrete news of the posting process that will make him officially available.
According to MLB insider Buster Olney, that is expected to happen early next week.
“Source: Pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto expected to be posted Monday. That means the 45-day negotiating window for MLB teams will start Tuesday,” he tweeted.
Source: Pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto expected to be posted Monday. That means the 45-day negotiating window for MLB teams will start Tuesday.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) November 17, 2023
Yamamoto is essentially the perfect free-agent pitcher.
He is very young, at 25 years old, yet incredibly seasoned at the top level, having thrown in the NPB for seven seasons.
The right-hander has an incredible 1.82 ERA over seven seasons in Japan, including a 1.48 mark this past season.
He boasts an incredible fastball that can reach 98 mph, a cutter/slider hybrid, an excellent curveball and, of course, a splitter in true Japanese pitcher fashion.
Lots of contenders are reportedly after his services: the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, the Boston Red Sox, the Philadelphia Phillies, and others.
He is expected to be significantly more expensive than Kodai Senga, who was signed by the Mets on a five-year, $75 million deal.
In addition to his contract, which is expected to comfortably surpass $100 million, the team that signs him needs to pay a posting fee to the Buffaloes.
It’s an important investment, but Yamamoto has excellent stuff, elite command, experience, and youth on his side, making him the perfect free-agent signing this offseason.
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