Star Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto is poised to land a massive contract in free agency.
The salary floor for Yamamoto could be $200 million, multiple executives said, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN, who added that others believe the pitcher may net up to $250 million.
Only six pitchers have signed deals worth at least $200 million in MLB history.
| Rank | Player | Contract |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gerrit Cole | $324M |
| 2 | Stephen Strasburg | $245M |
| 3 | David Price | $217M |
| 4 | Clayton Kershaw | $215M |
| 5 | Max Scherzer | $210M |
| 6 | Zack Greinke | $206.5M |
The 25-year-old was posted in late November. Clubs have until Jan. 4 to negotiate a contract. The New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, and Chicago Cubs are reportedly among a slew of teams interested in him.
The San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue Jays, and Philadelphia Phillies are also expected to pursue Yamamoto, according to Passan.
Joel Wolfe, Yamamoto's agent, has said that his client is willing to play anywhere.
Yamamoto authored a 70-29 record with a sparkling 1.82 ERA and 922 strikeouts across 897 innings over seven years with Nippon Professional Baseball's Orix Buffaloes en route to capturing the Sawamura Award three times as Japan's top pitcher.
