The New York Mets and New York Yankees are two of the many teams reportedly interested in Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and the high demand is reportedly driving up his alleged asking price to unexpected levels.
Unlike last winter, this is not going to be a particularly strong free-agent market. There aren’t star everyday players like Aaron Judge, Carlos Correa, or Xander Bogaerts up for grabs. The same could be said about the pitching market which boasted Cy Young winners Justin Verlander and Jacob DeGrom in 2022.
That is probably why the market for international free-agent arm Yoshinobu Yamamoto has been expanding quickly over the last few weeks. The 25-year-old hasn’t even hit his prime and has posted an impressive 75-30 record 1.72 ERA, and 0.92 WHIP during seven seasons in the Japanese Pacific League.
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto stats (2023): 17-6, 171 IP, 176 SO, 28 BB, 1.16 ERA, 0.860 WHIP
New York Mets or Yankees might need to fork over at least $200 million to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto
With pitching at a premium, the market weaker than years passed, and teams like the Mets, Yankees, Giants, and Dodgers linked to a potential pursuit of Yamamoto, it seems that his starting price has skyrocketed compared to early estimates.
On Friday, New York Post MLB insider Mike Puma claimed that a potential contract for the Orix Buffaloes star “will start somewhere in the $200 million range for six or seven years.” That means the Japanese ace could score a deal that pays him around $33 million a season. A steep price for a player that has not pitched in MLB yet.
The other top starting arms expected to be available in MLB free agency this winter include Marcus Stroman, Blake Snell, Clayton Kershaw, Sonny Gray, and of course, two-way star Shohei Ohtani.
