Is Yoshinobu Yamamoto on His Way to Becoming the Highest-Paid MLB Pitcher Ever?

Yoshinobu Yamamoto is about to make the kind of MLB entry that has never been done before. Without throwing a single ball in the major leagues, the ace is already among the biggest pitchers in the sport. With the who’s who of MLB after him, will Yamamoto do the unthinkable and break Gerrit Cole’s contract record?

When the 25-year-old first got posted, his contract was expected to get to $200 million at best, which was already a massive value. Gradually the world witnessed his craze as every executive began ringing up Yamamoto’s agent. The number grew to $300 million and if a top insider is to be believed, it can go even higher!

Top insider believes Yoshinobu Yamamoto can leave Gerrit Cole in the dust

Watching a pitcher like Yoshinobu Yamamoto in action feels fantasy-like. At just 25, he has won almost everything a pitcher can win in Japan. Add to this his seemingly unending potential. Whichever team gets him will get both an experienced player who is also full of youthful exuberance. Perhaps this is why SNY’s Andy Martino thinks his contract can rival that of Gerrit Cole’s $324 million with the Yankees. 

“I think salary-wise and contract-wise he’s gonna get the Gerrit Cole money. Whether it’s a little more or little less depends on the team. That’s $324 million for a guy that’s never thrown a pitch in MLB,” Martino said in a recent interview. 

Jon Heyman has called the Dodgers and Yankees closer than the rest. With the league’s biggest spenders after him, why wouldn’t Yamamoto’s contract go so high? Other clubs will have to pull a proverbial rabbit out of their hats to get Yamamoto’s attention. As Martino said, “It could be a shocking number.”

For Yamamoto to break the pitcher contract record without any experience in the major leagues would be a major achievement. And it’s starting to look more and more possible due to recent reports that say some teams have already offered him a contract well north of $300 million. And when one adds the posting fee, this number grows even higher.

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The higher the contract, the bigger the posting fee

MLB teams have to pay a posting fee to NPB teams when signing players with less than nine years of experience. Martino said Yamamoto’s could be $30-$40 million. But that number can go even higher if the contract value goes up, with The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal even predicting $50 million.

The bigger question, however, is will the salary be high as well. Yamamoto’s youth could result in a long contract which can reduce some of his AAV. But the craze for him can increase that value as well. As it stands, Yamamoto is about to write history but who will be the one to be named alongside him?

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