Yoshinobu Yamamoto got $325 million 12 years from Dodgers (+posting fee)

[caulfield12]

https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/39147239/yoshinobu-yamamoto-dodgers-contract-grade-free-agency

The bottom line is there is no such thing as a mega-contract without risk, certainly not for a pitcher. But the Dodgers are just the kind of franchise who can afford to take on this kind of risk. The union of Yamamoto, Ohtani, the Dodgers, and the Los Angeles and Japanese fan bases has the potential to be an all-timer. When you think of the Dodgers, you think blue -- but their future is going to be generating a whole lot of green.

They also have the perfect infrastructure in place to satisfy Yamamoto's apparent penchant for constant self improvement. One example: Despite all the success he enjoyed during the first six seasons of his career, last season Yamamoto got rid of the leg kick he'd long used during his delivery, in part to make him more apt to control the running game. That's a pretty fundamental adjustment for someone who had performed so well for so long -- and he went out and had his best season. Now he will get immersed in the Dodgers' system of pitch optimization. It really does feel like a marriage made in baseball heaven. Well, at least for the portion of it that roots for the Dodgers.

The Dodgers are constructing a monster of a roster, though they still need to build out additional rotation depth, especially in lieu of last year's injury epidemic to that position group. And this being baseball and a 14-team postseason tournament being what it is, they are still guaranteed nothing in terms of a World Series trophy. But in landing the top two free agents on the board, they have established themselves as a strong favorite to win it all -- not just next season, but for the foreseeable future.

Superstar players are hard to come by. In Ohtani and Yamamoto, the Dodgers added two players who are of that ilk (or at least potentially in Yamamoto's case) -- and also made sure that none of the other big spenders in the sport acquired them. All of the biggest teams in baseball were in on Yamamoto, which as much as anything validates this investment. Thus, Dodgers Inc. grows ever stronger -- a dynasty more than a decade old that shows no signs of crumbling any time soon, if ever.

Grade: A

[Tnetennba]

 

[reiks12]

I wonder what it feels like to be a dodgers fan 

[nrockway]

1 billion dollars on two athletes' salaries. Sickening. 75,000 people are homeless in LA County. Who cares about baseball, this just reflects poorly on society and our so-called values.

[caulfield12]

1. Yoshinobu Yamamoto: 12 years, $325 million, $50.6 million posting fee
2. Masahiro Tanaka, New York Yankees: seven years, $155 million, $20 million posting fee
3. Masataka Yoshida, Boston Red Sox: five years, $90 million, $15.4 million posting fee
4. Seiya Suzuki, Chicago Cubs: five years, $85 million, $14.6 million posting fee
5. Yu Darvish, Texas Rangers: six years, $60 million, $51 million posting free
6. Yusei Kikuchi, Seattle Mariners: four years, $56 million, $10.3 million posting fee
7. Daisuke Matsuzaka, Boston Red Sox: six years, $52 million, $51.1 million posting fee

In case you were curious, Ichiro Suzuki's first MLB contract was a three-year, $14 million deal with a $13.1 million posting fee. Ohtani moved to the U.S. right after MLB rule changes meant he couldn't sign a big-money deal due to his young age.

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/yoshinobu-yamamoto-reportedly-agrees-to-join-dodgers-on-record-12-year-325-million-deal-041846597.html#:~:text=Yamamoto's deal sets record for Japanese players 1,%2460 million%2C %2451 million posting free More items

[hi8is]

Whoever told me it wouldn’t be the Dodgers because he wanted his own spotlight… time to own up. ?

[caulfield12]

40 minutes ago, hi8is said:

Whoever told me it wouldn’t be the Dodgers because he wanted his own spotlight… time to own up. ?

That was me…although there were many apparently NY media suckered by the same belief or assumption to be fair, especially the blogosphere.

 

Will definitely make things much easier for the Japanese media...won't have to split their coverage.

Edited December 22, 2023 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

Yahoo Sports.

Pretty much everything else besides his height is a positive. FanGraphs describes Yamamoto as "reminiscent of peak Zack Greinke" and grades his future value as a 65 on the 20-80 scale, which is a higher grade than that of the current top prospect in the minors, Baltimore Orioles phenom Jackson Holliday. Baseball America went even higher, with a 70 grade for Yamamoto, saying he "projects to be a No. 2 starter (lol) and has a chance to contend for Cy Young Awards."

Yamamoto boasts a deep arsenal of pitches, with four of them graded by BA as above-average. It starts with a mid-90s fastball, followed by a wipeout splitter and a looping curveball. Rounding out the group are a slider and a cutter to keep hitters guessing, and all of the pitches are elevated by consistent command.

https://sports.yahoo.com/yoshinobu-yamamoto-reportedly-agrees-to-join-dodgers-on-record-12-year-325-million-deal-041846597.html

 

Of course he needs to switch from pitching once a week to once every 5-6 days...but with 15-20% fewer pitches in the US.

Edited December 22, 2023 by caulfield12

[WestEddy]

2 hours ago, nrockway said:

1 billion dollars on two athletes' salaries. Sickening. 75,000 people are homeless in LA County. Who cares about baseball, this just reflects poorly on society and our so-called values.

Now you can write fan mail to Ohtani and Yamamoto to give money to solve LA homelessness. See how much power you have?

[TaylorStSox]

Baseball's at it's lowest popularity in history. Only 30% of Gen Z consider themselves baseball fans and follow a team, compared to 75% of Boomers. This can't be good for baseball. Why even bother following the sport when there's so much imbalance? 

[caulfield12]

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/why-japanese-righthander-yoshinobu-yamamoto-is-coveted-by-mlb-teams/

 

Seems professional athletes always take a lot more abuse than singers comedians movie and tv stars, models, etc., on this issue of exorbitant or "unseemly high" salaries.

Because playing a game requires less practice or dedication? ... don't think so.

[caulfield12]

Just now, TaylorStSox said:

Baseball's at it's lowest popularity in history. Only 30% of Gen Z consider themselves baseball fans and follow a team, compared to 75% of Boomers. This can't be good for baseball. Why even bother following the sport when there's so much imbalance? 

The sport is going to grow by 15% worldwide due to these two signings.

Whether a 50s/60s style Dodgers dynasty in the NL is a good thing for the sport is another question altogether.

Numerous non-baseball fans around the world are talking about the sport, partucularly the two contracts and these two talented players...

How could that be bad?  Most teams will set attendance records when the Dodgers are in town as well.

[ptatc]

27 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/why-japanese-righthander-yoshinobu-yamamoto-is-coveted-by-mlb-teams/

 

Seems professional athletes always take a lot more abuse than singers comedians movie and tv stars, models, etc., on this issue of exorbitant or "unseemly high" salaries.

Because playing a game requires less practice or dedication? ... don't think so.

The teams with the most money getting all the advantages. 2/3 of the teams just don't have the resources to compete for the best players. Eventually the sport will need a salary cap if they truly want teams to have a shot at the best players. It will be tough to get the union to agree. They love what this will do for salaries. 

The issue is that we know just having a few great players doesn't make a  baseball or equate to winning the world series. Baseball playoffs are so random that any team can win it if they make the playoffs. The teams with the most resources always have the greater odds of making the playoffs. 

Edited December 22, 2023 by ptatc

[nrockway]

52 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

Now you can write fan mail to Ohtani and Yamamoto to give money to solve LA homelessness. See how much power you have?

it isn't a criticism of these players, it's a criticism of the dogmatic belief that a market economy efficiently distributes limited resources. baseball has always been an analogy for society, the Dodgers, Mets, Yankees payrolls relative to every team in the central divisions is something that every 'flyover' midwesterner should feel deeply. it's an analogy for inequality. it's evidence that only the most highly-capitalized companies can succeed in the modern world. have some pride, man.

more relevant perhaps, it's clearly bad for the sport.

Edited December 22, 2023 by nrockway

[Buehrle>Wood]

Meanwhile those Midwest states have 5 World Series titles the last 20 years against the Mets, Dodgers and Yankees 2. Or 2 to 1 in the last 10 (that 1 being a fake asterisk title on top of it). I have a hard time believing this is some grand analogy or even that it's going to break baseball.

Edited December 22, 2023 by Buehrle>Wood

[Kyyle23]

5 hours ago, caulfield12 said:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/39147239/yoshinobu-yamamoto-dodgers-contract-grade-free-agency

The bottom line is there is no such thing as a mega-contract without risk, certainly not for a pitcher. But the Dodgers are just the kind of franchise who can afford to take on this kind of risk. The union of Yamamoto, Ohtani, the Dodgers, and the Los Angeles and Japanese fan bases has the potential to be an all-timer. When you think of the Dodgers, you think blue -- but their future is going to be generating a whole lot of green.

They also have the perfect infrastructure in place to satisfy Yamamoto's apparent penchant for constant self improvement. One example: Despite all the success he enjoyed during the first six seasons of his career, last season Yamamoto got rid of the leg kick he'd long used during his delivery, in part to make him more apt to control the running game. That's a pretty fundamental adjustment for someone who had performed so well for so long -- and he went out and had his best season. Now he will get immersed in the Dodgers' system of pitch optimization. It really does feel like a marriage made in baseball heaven. Well, at least for the portion of it that roots for the Dodgers.

The Dodgers are constructing a monster of a roster, though they still need to build out additional rotation depth, especially in lieu of last year's injury epidemic to that position group. And this being baseball and a 14-team postseason tournament being what it is, they are still guaranteed nothing in terms of a World Series trophy. But in landing the top two free agents on the board, they have established themselves as a strong favorite to win it all -- not just next season, but for the foreseeable future.

Superstar players are hard to come by. In Ohtani and Yamamoto, the Dodgers added two players who are of that ilk (or at least potentially in Yamamoto's case) -- and also made sure that none of the other big spenders in the sport acquired them. All of the biggest teams in baseball were in on Yamamoto, which as much as anything validates this investment. Thus, Dodgers Inc. grows ever stronger -- a dynasty more than a decade old that shows no signs of crumbling any time soon, if ever.

Grade: A

Is this the entire insider story?

[wegner]

The Dodgers are gonna do what the Dodgers are gonna do....and that is spend, spend, spend. That is everyone else in the NL West's problem.

I'm just trying to put all this contention window stuff behind me and hope to contend in the AL Central in the next few years....but then they'll probably do a divisional realignment. Oh Well....them's the breaks I guess.

[poppysox]

2 hours ago, nrockway said:

it isn't a criticism of these players, it's a criticism of the dogmatic belief that a market economy efficiently distributes limited resources. baseball has always been an analogy for society, the Dodgers, Mets, Yankees payrolls relative to every team in the central divisions is something that every 'flyover' midwesterner should feel deeply. it's an analogy for inequality. it's evidence that only the most highly-capitalized companies can succeed in the modern world. have some pride, man.

more relevant perhaps, it's clearly bad for the sport.

Additionally, these ridiculous salaries are paid for by the fans, not the owners, as so many want to believe.  

[bmags]

This was why the Ohtani deal was so outrageous to me. I don’t care about the total money, the Mets can do that.

The west coast has such an outrageous advantage for the Japanese market, and the dodgers especially, that to be able to structure a contract where you eliminate much of the financial restrictions in place for the cba gives a super advantage of geography advantages + big market revenue that are bad for the game.

f*** these contracts and f*** LA. And f*** Japanese players for wanting their games televised in their home country at a reasonable hour.

[SoCalChiSox]

2 hours ago, nrockway said:

it isn't a criticism of these players, it's a criticism of the dogmatic belief that a market economy efficiently distributes limited resources. baseball has always been an analogy for society, the Dodgers, Mets, Yankees payrolls relative to every team in the central divisions is something that every 'flyover' midwesterner should feel deeply. it's an analogy for inequality. it's evidence that only the most highly-capitalized companies can succeed in the modern world. have some pride, man.

more relevant perhaps, it's clearly bad for the sport.

Eh...frankly there are many owners that could spend if they wanted to, its not just big market ones. The SFG make huge offer after huge offer but no one wants to take their money. They aren't a big market team. I don't think it's bad for the sport that a player chooses to be on a great team with great money. Many of us would choose the same in our own lives. If you could work for a great employer AND get a great salary you would. 

No team is entitled to "have" a certain player just because. Nor is every small market club unable to compete just because of limited resources. Tampa Bay and Baltimore compete just fine on a shoestring budget because they invest what they do have in the right places and get great ROI. Arizona went to the WS on probably a below average budget I'm assuming.

I'm not saying there aren't troubling structural inequality issues in society, instead I'm simply saying baseball is a poor analogy for them. 

There's nothing wrong with teams (even big city teams) spending money on players. 

[SoCalChiSox]

22 minutes ago, poppysox said:

Additionally, these ridiculous salaries are paid for by the fans, not the owners, as so many want to believe.  

The salaries are not ridiculous. Ohtani was worth 10 WAR (approx 70-80m) last year plus worth tens of millions in addition in advertising to the Angels yet was paid only 30m.

He was severely underpaid. 

There's NOTHING ridiculous about player salaries. 

Nothing. You are worth what you produce. Pro sports are a cash cow because people are willing to watch, stream, purchase merchandise and go to games and there's mega consumer demand from all of us who see sports as a wonderful, magical escape from the harsh realities of our lives and we're more than happy to send our dollars their way just to get some enjoyment from that.

If the sport is bringing in say 2B a year why shouldn't the players have at least half that?

The ballplayers produce that. 

 

[hogan873]

This is ridiculous.  The deferred money in Ohtani's contract makes perfect sense now.  Of course we knew the Dodgers were going to be a big player for Yamamoto, but this just rubs me the wrong way.  Well, this is much less a problem for the Sox than it is for teams like the Giants and Padres.  I see the Giants making the next big move.  Snell?

As an aside, Cubs fans are probably quite disappointed.  The team went out a pulled the ultimate coup, stealing Counsell from the Brewers then promised to be very much in on Ohtani and Yamamoto.  Their off season has been about as exciting as ours so far.

[T R U]

8 minutes ago, SoCalChiSox said:

The salaries are not ridiculous. Ohtani was worth 10 WAR (approx 70-80m) last year plus worth tens of millions in addition in advertising to the Angels yet was paid only 30m.

He was severely underpaid. 

There's NOTHING ridiculous about player salaries. 

Nothing. You are worth what you produce. Pro sports are a cash cow because people are willing to watch, stream, purchase merchandise and go to games and there's mega consumer demand from all of us who see sports as a wonderful, magical escape from the harsh realities of our lives and we're more than happy to send our dollars their way just to get some enjoyment from that.

If the sport is bringing in say 2B a year why shouldn't the players have at least half that?

The ballplayers produce that. 

 

Hey buddy its not fair, why do I have to go to work everyday to make a shitty salary and those guys get set for life. They should just split that money amongst us regular people.

[Chicago White Sox]

17 minutes ago, SoCalChiSox said:

Eh...frankly there are many owners that could spend if they wanted to, its not just big market ones. The SFG make huge offer after huge offer but no one wants to take their money. They aren't a big market team. I don't think it's bad for the sport that a player chooses to be on a great team with great money. Many of us would choose the same in our own lives. If you could work for a great employer AND get a great salary you would. 

No team is entitled to "have" a certain player just because. Nor is every small market club unable to compete just because of limited resources. Tampa Bay and Baltimore compete just fine on a shoestring budget because they invest what they do have in the right places and get great ROI. Arizona went to the WS on probably a below average budget I'm assuming.

I'm not saying there aren't troubling structural inequality issues in society, instead I'm simply saying baseball is a poor analogy for them. 

There's nothing wrong with teams (even big city teams) spending money on players. 

The Dodgers’ regional TV deal provides 10x the revenue that the Brewers’ does.  These two clubs will never be on a level playing field under the current system.  I don’t really care about this “the post-season is a crap shoot” argument either.  The Dodgers will likely make the playoffs the next 10 years.  That’s absolute wild that I can say that right now, but it’s the likely reality with the super team they’ve built and a farm system that will continue providing cheap talent.  And the more chances you get, the better odds of winning a World Series.  So yeah, the Dodgers will get unlimited chances over the next decade whereas the small market teams will need to be garbage for at least four or five years to acquire enough cheap talent to get even a couple shots at a title.  Baseball is beyond broken and interest in small markets is simply going to run dry if this s%*# keeps happening.

[Bob Sacamano]

I don’t buy the idea of a “super team.” Other teams that looked like super teams in the past didn’t win much, if at all. Playoffs are such crap shoot. Plus, who knows how good this guy will actually be here. TJ Surgery will probably happen within the next 2 and a half years, his first anyway.