Where will Japan’s four-time Nippon Professional Baseball ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto play next year, and there are plenty of teams who want him. And the price tag is high.
According to Jim Bowden of The Athletic, the San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox are prepared to spend more than $300 million (about 39 billion won) to sign Yamamoto.
Japanese outlet Higashispo Web is also looking at the major league teams in the running for Yamamoto. “San Francisco signed outfielder Lee Jung-hoo to a big six-year, $13 million contract, but they have money to spend on power,” the publication noted.
The Giants have a lot of room to maneuver with the departure of Shohei Ohtani to the Los Angeles Dodgers. San Francisco reportedly matched the Dodgers’ offer for Ohtani. The Dodgers spent 10 years and $700 million (approximately KRW 92.4 billion) to acquire Ohtani.
After failing to land Ohtani, the Giants are now targeting Yamamoto to bolster their starting rotation. They spent a total of $113 million over six years on Lee Jung-hoo, 토토사이트 but they still have money to spare considering their plans for Ohtani fell through.
Yamamoto could be in the mix.
Yamamoto is a pitcher with a career record of 70-29 with a 1.82 ERA in 172 games (897 innings) in Nippon Professional Baseball. He is the first pitcher in Japanese history to win four pitching titles (wins, ERA, strikeouts, and winning percentage) in three consecutive years.
Yamamoto also won the Sawamura Award and Pacific League MVP for three consecutive years. He is only the second player in history to win the Sawamura Award three years in a row and the third player in history to win the MVP award three years in a row since Ichiro Suzuki (1994-1996).
The Giants aren’t the only team in the market for Yamamoto, however. Other big-market teams, including the Dodgers and New York Yankees, are making moves to acquire Yamamoto. The Dodgers may not be done with Ohtani.
The New York Mets are also in the mix for Yamamoto. According to MLB.com, “The Mets will either sign Yamamoto or waive him this offseason.”
Yamamoto made his way to the major leagues by posting. With so much interest from teams, his asking price has skyrocketed. It was expected to be a $200 million deal, but it’s now expected to be as high as $300 million.
The Athletic’s Will Sammon said, “Yamamoto is in a special category, and he’s the only player worth every penny.”
Both the Dodgers, who acquired Ohtani, and San Francisco, who acquired Lee Jung-hoo, are reportedly interested in Yamamoto. Like Lee, Yamamoto is preparing to enter the major leagues through the posting system, 토토사이트 순위 so the question is which team he will play for next year, whether he will be teaming up with his Japanese teammate Ohtani or Lee.