Dodgers To Sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto To Record-Setting Contract

The 12-year, $325 million pact includes no deferrals.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have had an historic offseason. After signing Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million contract, they doubled down on spending to land their future starting rotation ace.

The Dodgers agreed to terms with 25-year-old pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto on a 12-year, $325 million contract. It is the largest contract by total value ever signed by a pitcher, topping Gerrit Cole's contract with the New York Yankees by $1 million.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today provided further details regarding this historic contract.

Yamamoto contract:
12 years
$325 million
$50 million signing bonus
No deferrals.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 22, 2023

"Deferrals" became the buzzword of the offseason after Ohtani agreed to defer $680 million in salary until his contract expires following the 2033 season. This lowered Ohtani's average annual value from $70 million to only around $46 million, according to MLB's calculations. 

While $46 million will count against the Dodgers' competitive balance tax calculation for each year Ohtani is under contract, the front office will only pay him $2 million annually.

These maneuvers made it possible for the front office to continue to spend big. Presumably that helped the front office's ability to make the top bid for Yamamoto.

Yamamoto's contract does not contain any deferrals. This means he will receive $325 million total over the next 12 years. The Dodgers must pay an additional $50.6 million to the NPB's Orix Buffaloes under the terms of MLB's posting agreement.

The signing bonus means Yamamoto is owed $50 million upfront, and pegs the average annual value of his contract at $28,210,787. Yamamoto will reportedly have the opportunity to opt out twice during the life of the contract.

What the front office does from here remains to be seen. Depth in the outfield and starting rotation still leave room for improvement. 

For now, Dodger fans around the world have plenty to celebrate.

The same team that got three feeble starts in its only postseason series in October now boasts one of MLB's most star-laden rotations:

1. Yoshinobu Yamamoto
2. Tyler Glasnow
3. Walker Buehler
4. Bobby Miller 
5. Emmet Sheehan