The New York Post reported that the expectation is that Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto could be posted as early as Monday, at which time MLB teams could negotiate for one of the most sought-after players this offseason. That impacts the New York Yankees because they, like most big-market teams, have an interest in signing the Japanese star.
But the Yankees have a couple of connections that could potentially help them. First, there’s how the Yankees see Yamamoto, per the Post. They see him as an another Masahiro Tanaka.
The Yankees signed him to a seven-year, $175 million deal before the 2014 season and he became a two-time All-Star with a career record of 78-46 with a 3.74 ERA. He had six straight seasons of at least 11 wins from 2014-19. That’s the sort of consistency the Yankees would love from any pitcher.
The second is a connection in representation. Joel Wolfe is Yamamoto’s agent. Wolfe is also the agent for Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton, and the comments made by Yankees general manager Brian Cashman about Stanton’s injury issues are worth taking into consideration. But if Yamamoto wants to pitch in New York, it seems unlikely that would be a roadblock now that Cashman has cleared the air with Stanton.
It’s possible that Yamamoto could land a contract in excess of $200 million, which doesn’t include the posting fee the team that signs him must pay to his Japanese club, the Orix Buffaloes.
Yamamoto recently wrapped up play in the Japan Series, their country’s equivalent of the World Series. His final game saw him strike out 14 hitters in Game 6, which set a series record. Just 25 years old, Yamamoto has a 70-29 record. He has a mid-90s fastball, but he is best known for an array of breaking pitches that can befuddle hitters. This season he had just a 1.21 ERA. He also went 16-6 and struck out 169 hitters in 164 innings.
Yamamoto has thrown two no-hitters in his career. He’s also won gold medals for Japan in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
