Entering this offseason, the two big names on the market were Shohei Ohtani as a hitter since he can’t pitch in 2024 and Yoshinobu Yamamoto as the pitcher. Every baseball fan wanted their team to sign Yamamoto and it was known he was going to get a contract north of $275 million, he did that by signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers for $325 million over 12 years, the deal has two opt-out clauses in it but it also includes some deferrals he will make $5 million this year, $10 million in 2025, $12 million in 2026, he’ll get $26 million in 2027, 2028, 2029, $29 million in 2030 and 2031, and $28 million from 2032-35.
Yoshinobu when the 2024 season starts will be 25 years old and if he doesn’t opt out of his contract will be Dodger until he is 38 years old. Yamamoto when pitching in Japan pitched for the Orix Buffaloes in the Japan Pacific League and the Japan Western League. For his career, he has made 188 appearances going 75-30 with a 1.72 ERA, a 0.91 WHIP, and 986 strikeouts in 967.2 innings. That timeframe ran from 2017 to 2023. In 2023 he pitched for both leagues, with the Buffaloes in the Pacific League making 23 appearances going 16-6 with a 1.21 ERA, a 0.88 WHIP, and 169 strikeouts in 164 innings. In the Western League, he made one appearance going 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA, a 0.28 WHIP, and seven strikeouts in seven innings. That brought his 2023 total to 24 appearances going 17-6 with a 1.16 ERA, a 0.86 WHIP, and 176 strikeouts in 171 innings.
Could Yamamoto Be A Bust?
Yamamoto made his debut this spring on February 28th against the Texas Rangers, and he looked solid going two innings he only gave up one hit, didn’t allow a run or issue a walk and he struck out three. Since then, things haven’t been so kosher, his start following his debut came on March 6th against the Chicago White Sox, and in that one, he went three innings giving up five runs on six hits; he walked three and struck out four. He made his third start yesterday against the Seattle Mariners and he suffered a loss giving up four runs on eight hits; he walked one and struck out seven in 4.2 innings. This spring combined in his three starts he is 0-1 with an 8.38 ERA, a 1.97 WHIP, and 14 strikeouts in 9.2 innings.
Wrap-Up: Time Will Tell
Yamamoto had interest from many teams but the ones who seemed to be going all in trying to get him were the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox, and the team he landed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. It’s only a small sample size and he’s a professional pitcher so it’s likely he’ll get his kinks worked out and be the pitcher the Dodgers signed him to be but the numbers that are being seen may be a little worrisome, the one thing he has proved this spring is he can strike guys out and that shouldn’t be a worry whatsoever. This will be something that’ll be interesting to watch when Opening Day hits Yamamoto has been tabbed as the starter in the second game in the Seoul Series which will be played next Wednesday, March 20th which will have Yu Darvish taking on Tyler Glasnow, and then game two Joe Musgrove taking on Yamamoto.
