Coveted 25-year-old right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Thursday agreed to terms with the Los Angeles Dodgers on a 12-year, $325 million contract. Once he signs it and the pact is fully executed, it'll become the largest contract ever given to a pitcher in MLB history.
That's notable enough, and that's not even counting the substantial posting fee that's owed to the Orix Buffaloes, Yamamoto's now-former team in Japan. Add in the posting fee, and the Dodgers' total bill grows by another $50.6 million.
When it comes to the record total salary commitment, Yamamoto's deal just barely edges out the previous record-holder, Gerrit Cole and his $324 million deal with the Yankees. Now here's an updated look at those largest pitcher contracts ever in MLB:
| Pitcher | Years | Total value |
|---|---|---|
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers | 12 | $325 million |
Gerrit Cole, Yankees | 9 | $324 million |
Stephen Strasburg, Nationals | 9 | $245 million |
Jacob deGrom, Rangers | 5 | $185 million |
Aaron Nola, Phillies | 7 | $172 million |
Carlos Rodón, Yankees | 6 | $162 million |
Yamamoto's is also the longest contract given to a pitcher, which reflects the fact that he's just 25 years of age, making him uncommonly young for a free agent. Of those six biggest pitcher contracts, four -- Yamamoto's, deGrom's, Nola's, and Rodón's -- have been agreed to within the last two offseasons.
As for the biggest contracts of all, Yamamoto's new Dodger teammate Shohei Ohtani of course owns that record with his $700 million deal. Yamamoto's is now tied with Corey Seager of the Rangers for the ninth-biggest contract in MLB, regardless of whether it was signed by a pitcher or position player.
His shiny new Dodgers deal also shatters the record for an NPB player posted to MLB, previously held by Masahiro Tanaka, who signed a seven-year deal worth $155 million with the New York Yankees in January 2014. Yamamoto more than doubled that.
