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With Shohei Ohtani off the market, Yoshinobu Yamamoto is the most-hyped free agent left on the MLB market. The bidding for free-agent pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto has yet to hit $300 million, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. Passan said that “multiple reports suggested teams already had offered Yamamoto deals in excess of $300 million.”
“Those reports, sources said, are inaccurate,” Passan reported. “Multiple high-ranking officials trying to sign Yamamoto told ESPN that teams were asked to give a preliminary bid at the start of the process to ensure they were serious — but not necessarily in the neighborhood of where the deal is likely to land. Since then, those officials say, his agent, Joel Wolfe, has not solicited a new round of bids.”
Yamamoto's meetings have been with major names running big-market teams. Among the people who went to see him pitch in Japan this year were Los Angeles Dodgers president Andrew Friedman, New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, San Francisco Giants president Farhan Zaidi and Chicago Cubs president Jed Hoyer. Less than two weeks ago, New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and president David Stearns flew to Japan for dinner with Yamamoto and his mother.
The overall dollar figure that Yamamoto ends up agreeing to also will depend on what exactly he prioritizes. Because of his age, he could sign a seven-year deal and hit free agency again at 32.
He could target a 10-year contract but request an opt-out after the fourth season and be back on the market at 29. Teams could even attempt to lock him up to a lifetime deal that would dampen the competitive-balance-tax hit by lowering the average annual value of the contract.
