Part of the Los Angeles Dodgers dominating free agency after the 2023 season was signing Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the richest contract in MLB history for a starting pitcher.
Yamamoto’s 12-year, $325 million contract included a $50 million signing bonus and has opt-out clauses after both the 2030 and 2032 seasons. He joined the Dodgers after quite the career in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) that among other accolades included winning three consecutive Eiji Sawamura Awards, which is the league’s equivalent of the Cy Young.
While the overwhelming majority of the reaction to the Dodgers signing Yamamoto was a mixture of intrigue and positivity, Josh Reddick stood out as arguably the largest critic of the record-breaking contract.
During an appearance on “Foul Territory” show, Reddick declined to apologize for his stance but acknowledged Yamamoto has performed admirably through his first two seasons:
“I’d say it tomorrow if somebody else signed for that much money. But you know what? I was wrong on this one. I’ve said it on our podcast with Chandler (Rome) and Tyler Stafford, but here it is. I was wrong. Like you said, it was an opinion. I had it, and the opinion was wrong.
“He’s obviously a very, very talented pitcher. We saw what he could do in the postseason, we saw what he could do in the regular season. So I tip my cap to him. He’s obviously very good. I was wrong, Dodgers fans. Do I apologize? Probably not. But good for him. He’s a great pitcher. I’m glad I don’t have to face him, because that splitter is terrifying.
“He had a fantastic World Series. Even with my opinion being wrong, it was so fun to watch him put on a show.”
Over his two years with the Dodgers thus far, Yamamoto is a combined 19-10 with a 2.66 ERA, 2.83 FIP and 1.03 WHIP across 48 starts. He missed nearly three full months in 2024 because of a right shoulder injury, but otherwise played a key part in the Dodgers winning back-to-back World Series titles.
That was especially true this year, with Yamamoto pitching in three games (two starts) during the World Series. Yamamoto heroically provided 2.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen in Game 7 despite starting the night prior.
“It’s unheard of,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Yamamoto’s approach and regimen after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays. “I think that there’s a mind component, there’s a delivery, which is a flawless delivery, and there’s just an unwavering will. I just haven’t seen it. I really haven’t. You know, all that combined.
“And there’s certain players that want moments and there’s certain players that want it for the right reasons. Yoshi is a guy that I just completely implicitly trust and he’s made me a pretty dang good manager.”
In addition to another championship, Yamamoto was rewarded with the World Series MVP Award for his efforts.
Josh Reddick’s tweet about Yoshinobu Yamamoto
When the Dodgers signed Yamamoto in December 2023, Reddick infamously posted on then-Twitter, “How do you give a guy $325 million without ever throwing a pitch in MLB” in response to the record-setting contract.
Reddick’s social media account has drawn the ire of Dodgers fans and after the 2025 World Series concluded, he switched it to being private. That seemingly was in effort to limit the onslaught of backlash.
Beyond his critical comments of Yamamoto, Reddick has not been in good standing with the Dodgers fanbase due to his struggles with the team after being traded in 2016 and being part of the 2017 Houston Astros team that cheated their way to World Series title over L.A.
Reddick has maintained he did not personally utilize the Astros’ cheating system.
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