Los Angeles Dodgers Beat New York Yankees For Pitching Target

The Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to a long-term contract with Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

The New York Yankees lost Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Thursday night.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported that Yamamoto agreed to a 12-year, $325 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, effectively ending the pursuit of the top free agent pitcher on the market. 

The Dodgers have not officially announced the deal. 

The Yankees meet with Yamamoto twice during the free-agent process, with manager Aaron Boone general manager Brian Cashman and pitching coach Matt Blake all in attendance.

But that wasn't enough to lure Yamamoto to the Bronx.

Yamamoto represents the Dodgers' third big move of the offseason. The Dodgers spent $700 million over 10 seasons to sign two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani — $680 million of which will be deferred to the end of the contract.

The other major move was a trade that brought the Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow and outfielder Manuel Margot.

The Yankees traded for slugger Juan Soto earlier this season and will now turn their attention to other free agent pitchers on the market. 

At 25 years old, Yamamoto has already won three straight Pacific League MVP awards and three straight Sawamura awards, the latter of which is the Japanese Cy Young.

Last season he went 16-6 with a 1.21 ERA and 169 strikeouts as he led Orix to the Japan Series. Along the way he threw his second no-hitter with MLB scouts in attendance.

Yamamoto has a 70-29 record. He has a mid-90s fastball, but he is best known for an array of breaking pitches that can befuddle hitters. He’s also won gold medals for Japan in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.