D-backs Linked to Top Free Agent Pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Japan's top starting pitcher is expected to make the jump to MLB in the next off-season.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto took the baseball world by storm in the World Baseball Classic, helping Japan clinch a title last back in March. The two-time Eiji Sawamura Award winner, the Nippon Professional League's equivalent of the Cy Young Award, could be looking to take his talents to Major League Baseball as the next challenge in his career. Michael Marino, a national reporter for MLB, is reporting that the Arizona Diamondbacks are one of two teams interested in the 25-year-old right-hander if he posted by the Orix Buffalos in the next off-season.

Sources: The Mets and Diamondbacks are 2 teams expected to have strong interest in Japanese SP Yoshinobu Yamamato should he be posted after the season. Many more expected to be in with a contract exceeding $200 million a strong possibility.

— Michael Marino (@MarinoMLB) August 22, 2023

The $200 million contract demand could be interesting for the D-backs, who've consistently ranked in the bottom third in MLB in luxury tax payroll. That could present a potential problem as Yamamoto will be the biggest contract in terms of both total dollars and yearly average should Arizona sign him. However payroll should not conflict with a team that is clearly on the rise this season.

Yamamoto features a repertoire that includes a four-seam fastball, splitter, curveball, cutter, and slider. The fastball clocked in at mid-90s velocity (93-96) in the WBC, using it to get ahead of hitters early in the count. The splitter is his best secondary pitch, sitting 89-91 with tumbling action, that allows him to use a vertical approach to attacking the strike zone with high fastballs then finish them off with splitters and cutters down. The fastball and splitter account for roughly 70% of his overall repertoire. 

The D-backs rotation has two established starters in Zac Gallen, a contender for the 2023 National League Cy Young Award, and Merrill Kelly. Rookie right-hander Brandon Pfaadt has emerged as a solid third starter in the past month, with a 3.50 ERA in his past seven starts. Adding Yamamoto to the rotation would give Arizona a solid 1-4 rotation while relying on the hot hand between Ryne Nelson, Slade Cecconi, and Bryce Jarvis for the fifth spot.