The other Japanese star pitcher: What MLB team will sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto?
Following their Game 7 loss in the Japan Series, the Orix Buffaloes announced that the star pitcher would be making the jump to MLB. The question now is, where?
Like his compatriot Shohei Ohtani, the Japanese pitcher is one of the most sought-after talents in the game today. With a move to MLB now imminent, there will undoubtedly be a number of teams across the league who will be vying to secure his services.
What’s Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s situation right now?
On Sunday night, the Orix Buffaloes lost to the Hanshin Tigers in Game 7 of the Japan Series at Kyocera Dome in Osaka. Now, while the defeat would have understandably come as a blow to fans, there was also an announcement shortly after the game that would have only compounded the matter. Indeed, the team disclosed that star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto will be made available to MLB teams via the posting system. “I think MLB is the best league in the world,” Yamamoto said in a statement. While the news was not surprising it did bring with it a sense of finality, something the 25-year-old right-hander alluded to. “I also feel a little sad, because I love Orix so much,” he said. “...I had a lot of good experiences here and grew a lot over the past seven years.”
OK, but how good is Yoshinobu Yamamoto?
To bring you up to speed, the 25-year-old right-hander has a 70-29 record with one save and a 1.82 ERA in 897 innings over seven seasons with the Buffaloes. That’s to say, he’s very good. With a fastball that’s consistently in the mid-90s and a wide array of breaking balls, including a solid curveball and a splitter that might be among the best in the world, Yamamoto is quite frankly one of the best we’ve seen in a long time. Where this most recent season is concerned, Yamamoto went 16-6 with a 1.21 ERA and 0.88 WHIP with 169 strikeouts across 164 innings pitched. That effort was good enough to make him the second pitcher to win three straight Sawamura Awards. To be clear, Yamamoto is one of just five three-time winners. It’s also worth noting that he’s won the last two Pacific League MVP awards and is a sure bet to win a third when the award is announced later this month.
So, which team will sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto?
While there has been no official word on a favorite, there are several teams that are currently scouting Yamamoto, and if we’re honest have been doing so for years. Most recently, New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman was in attendance at Zozo Marine Stadium in Chiba back on September 10th, a game in which Yamamoto threw his second-career no-hitter. The added intrigue, of course, is that the Yankees do have a history with Japanese talent having signed Masahiro Tanaka to a Japanese player record seven-year, $155 million contract a decade ago. Given Yamamoto’s young age and the relatively small free-agent market this year, there’s no reason to believe a similar move won’t be made here in 2023. Watch this space.