Yoshinobu Yamamoto Signing With the Dodgers Was Driven by 2 Key Factors

The Yoshinobu Yamamoto free-agency experience is over. News broke late on December 21 that the right-handed pitcher had agreed to a 12-year, $325 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

Yamamoto had comparable offers elsewhere. The Athletic’s Will Sammon reported the New York Mets also offered $325 million. Meanwhile, the New York Yankees offered $300 million, per the New York Post’s Jon Heyman. With the money essentially being the same across his top choices, what drove his decision to sign with Los Angeles?

League insider Jon Morosi shared two specific details. “I was told by a source who knows the Japanese baseball scene very well… Yamamoto simply wanted to be a Dodger and play with Ohtani,” Morosi said during a December 22 segment on MLB Network.

Those details make it seem like a simple decision. As long as the contract terms were comparable, it sounds as if he just preferred playing for Los Angeles.

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Still Waiting for More Details on Yamamoto’s Deal

On the surface, Yamamoto’s contract has broken some records, as it was expected to. The total amount of money awarded is the richest pitcher contract in MLB history. It beats Gerrit Cole’s nine-year, $324 million deal that he signed with the Yankees after the 2019 season.

Since Yamamoto is coming over from Japan, his price tag isn’t simply $325 million. The Dodgers also have to pay a posting fee to his soon-to-be former club, the Orix Buffaloes. Passan reported that will come to $50.6 million, making the total expenditure $375.6 million.

MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported there is no deferred money involved and Yamamoto is getting a $50 million signing bonus. Outside of the hurler undergoing a physical to make this transaction official, there’s one detail yet to be reported on: the opt-out clauses included.

Yamamoto’s camp wanted opt-outs in years five and eight, allowing him to re-enter free agency if he desired, per SNY’s Andy Martino. He also said the Mets offered an opt-out after five years. Passan notes the right-hander is getting two in his deal with the Dodgers, but the timing of those opt-outs is not yet known.

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Dodgers Now Have All the Pressure to Perform

It’s not even January and the Dodgers have had themselves an offseason for the ages. Between signing Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani, as well as trading for and extending Tyler Glasnow, they’ve guaranteed more than $1 billion in player contracts this winter.

While they’ve won just one World Series over the past decade, the Dodgers are already viewed as one of baseball’s most consistently successful franchises.

Los Angeles has made the postseason each year since 2013, which includes 10 National League West division titles and three trips to the Fall Classic. They’ve also won 100-plus regular-season games five times during this span (four times since 2019).

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has steered his club to 211 regular-season wins since the start of 2022. Their postseason performance has been nothing short of a disappointment, though. They’ve been bounced from the National League Division Series in consecutive years, winning just one playoff game overall.

These offseason acquisitions will put the Dodgers under a microscope. It will be paired with sky-high expectations for the foreseeable future.

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