Yoshinobu Yamamoto posted to MLB free agency to spark bidding war, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox interested
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Published 21/11/2023 at 10:18 GMT
There is plenty of excitement surrounding Japanese baseball star Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who is widely expected to make a move to Major League Baseball (MLB). Yamamoto has been posted as a free agent by Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) side Orix Buffaloes on Monday. The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are among the sides linked with the 25-year-old, but any deal must be completed by January 4.
MIAMI, FLORIDA - MARCH 20: Yoshinobu Yamamoto #18 of Team Japan pitches in the eighth inning against Team Mexico during the World Baseball Classic Semifinals at loanDepot park on March 20, 2023 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images)
Image credit: Getty Images
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is being tipped to become the next Japanese star in Major League Baseball after being posted as a free agent on Monday.
It is being reported by Reuters that Yamamoto could sign a long-term contract in excess of $200 million for any one of several MLB sides.
An anticipated bidding war looks set to take place for the right-handed after Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) side Orix Buffaloes posted Yamamoto on Monday.
The 25-year-old holds an impressive pedigree in the sport after winning the Eiji Sawamura Award three times, seen as the equivalent to the MLB’s prestigious Cy Young award.
He is also an Olympic champion after helping Japan to a gold medal at the Tokyo Games three years ago, and starred in his country’s victory at the World Baseball Classic this year.
Teams can sign Yamamoto from Tuesday November 21, and have a deadline of January 4 to complete any proposed deal.
The Athletic's Jim Bowden also sung his praises and said Yamamoto “really knows how to pitch by adding and subtracting and he has special command in and out of the strike zone. He’s a competitor with savvy, feel and poise. His fastball lives in the mid-to-high 90s with a wipeout split-finger and a plus curveball as part of his five-pitch mix. He moves the ball west to east and north to south extremely well, too.”
The publication also reports that several teams have been repeatedly linked with his services, including the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers.
Yamamoto would follow in the footsteps of several Japanese players to make the move Stateside, as the Yankees forked out a seven-year, $155m deal to Masahiro Tanaka in 2014, while their cross-city rivals the Mets gave Kodai Senga a five-year, $75m contract last season.
Boston also recently handed Masataka Yoshida a five-year deal worth $90m.
It is also worth noting that Yamamoto is represented by Wasserman, who also brokered Senga's move to the Mets.
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