Japanese phenom Yoshinobu Yamamoto is likely heading to the MLB after his club in Japan, the Orix Buffaloes, allowed him to negotiate a contract with MLB teams, Orix announced on Twitter.
オリックス・バファローズでは、山本由伸投手の「ポスティング」による米国メジャー・リーグ・ベースボール（MLB）球団への移籍について承認いたしましたので、お知らせいたします。
今後、「日米間選手契約に関する協定」に則り、申請の手続きを進めてまいります。https://t.co/OXnLQn45IL#Bs2023— オリックス・バファローズ (@Orix_Buffaloes) November 5, 2023
Yamamoto, a 25-year-old starting pitcher, will likely be a valued commodity on the free agent market and should see a competitive bidding war for his services.
MLB big shots from multiple teams, including the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs, have already scouted him in person, according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi. But it’s the other Big Apple ballclub that some experts are predicting will land the potential phenom. The New York Post’s Jon Heyman claims rival GMs expect the New York Mets to be the highest bidder. The Mets made a splash last offseason by signing Yoshi’s good friend Kodai Senga away from Japan to a five year $75 million contract. (RELATED: Clayton Kershaw Undergoes Major Surgery, Putting 2024 Season In Doubt)
Heyman foresees Yamamoto garnering a significantly higher contract than his buddy did, predicting that the Buffaloes’ ace will sign an eight year $200 million deal.
That investment could easily be worth it for a team looking for starting pitching. Yamamoto is coming off of a stellar season which he capped off by throwing a 138 pitch, nine inning gem in game six of his league’s championship series. Over his past three seasons in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball League, Yamamoto hurled a mind-blowing 550 innings with 590 strikeouts and posted a 1.44 earned run average, per Metsmerized’s Matthew Brownstein.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s combined numbers over his last three seasons:
49-16 record, 550.2 IP, 580 SO, 1.44 ERA, 0.8862 WHIP pic.twitter.com/JtyCInSpyg
— Mathew Brownstein (@MBrownstein89) November 5, 2023
The only player likely to attract more hype (and money) this offseason is his World Baseball Classic teammate and generationally prolific two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani. The recent success of Ohtani and Senga, who is likely to finish top two of the NL Rookie of the Year Awards according to Bet MGM Casinos, undoubtedly bolster the growing confidence that MLB front offices have in Japanese pitchers.