Yoshinobu Yamamoto became the highest-paid pitcher in MLB history when he signed a 12-year, $325 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers last month.
The right-hander’s deal is backloaded as he will earn less than $15 million in each of his first three seasons. However, none of the money will be deferred as is the case with Shohei Ohtani’s contract.
Yamamoto also received a $50 million signing bonus from the Dodgers. According to Ronald Blum of the Associated Press, he will get $20 million of his signing bonus by February 1 and the remaining amount on July 1:
Yamamoto will get $20 million of his $50 million signing bonus by Feb. 1 and the remainder by July 1.
Yamamoto’s contract with the Dodgers also has two opt-out clauses after the 2029 and 2031 seasons. However, those will be pushed back to 2031 and 2033, respectively, if the 25-year-old misses significant time due to a right elbow injury or undergoes Tommy John surgery at any point from 2024-2029.
Yamamoto’s deal does not include a no-trade clause, but he will have the ability opt out at the end of any season in which he is moved to another team.
The Dodgers under president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman have given out only one full no-trade clause, which went to Ohtani as part of his record-setting contract.
The Dodgers are additionally required to pay Yamamoto’s former Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) team, the Orix Buffaloes, a posting fee of $50.6 million. The fee consists of 20% of the first $25 million of his contract, an additional 17.5% of the next $25 million and 15% for the remaining total.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto & Tyler Glasnow ranked among top 10 starting pitchers for 2024
The Dodgers did not have a starting pitcher ranked by The Shredder among the top 10 heading into the 2024 season, but MLB Network analysts Vince Gennaro, Mike Petriello and Sarah Langs all included Yamamoto and/or Tyler Glasnow on their respective lists.
Gennaro ranked Yamamoto at No. 4 and Glasnow seventh. Petriello included Yamamoto at seventh on his list, and the MLB Top-10 Starting Pitchers Right Now panel was rounded out by Langs placing Yamamoto at No. 9.
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