Yankees Free Agency Target Named Pacific League MVP

Yoshinobu Yamamoto joined legendary company as MLB teams like the New York Yankees pursue him in free agency.

New York Yankees pitching target Yoshinobu Yamamoto will bring another piece of hardware with him to The Bronx, should the Yankees manage to sign the Japanese star.

On Tuesday, Yamamoto was given the Pacific League MVP for the third straight season after another great season with the Orix Buffaloes.

In 2023 he went 16-6 with a 1.21 ERA and struck out 169 hitters in 164 innings. He threw his second career no-hitter and threw in the Japan Series, where he struck out 14 hitters in Game 6, which set a series record.

It’s little wonder why the Yankees are reportedly saving jersey No. 18 for Yamamoto, should he sign. That is Yamamoto’s number with the Buffaloes.

But, his win on Tuesday took on bigger significance in Japanese baseball, as he became just the third player in Nippon Professional Baseball history to win three straight MVP awards.

One of them was a former Orix player, Ichiro Suzuki, who won the award from 1994-96. The other is Hisashi Yamada (1976-78).

Yamamoto called Ichiro a franchise “legend,” a tag that others can use about him now.

"I'm happy to have done the same as him,” Yamomoto said. “Everyone looks up to him, and I'm one of those."

Yamamoto had already claimed the Sawamura Award, which is the Japanese Cy Young, for the third straight season.

The Yankees are likely one of up to 14 teams that are speaking with Yamamoto and his representatives via Zoom or phone. Yamamoto will then return to the U.S. after the MLB winter meetings end on Jan. 7 and meet with finalists in person.

He has until Jan. 4 to reach a deal after he was posted by Orix last Monday. He is widely expected to sign a deal in excess of $200 million.

Yamamoto is star of a growing crop of Asian players who have either been posted or will be posted in December, some of which have also been connected to the Yankees.

Two other Japanese pitchers — Shota Imagana and Naoyuki Uwasawa — were posted on Monday.

At least two players from Korea will be posted in December —outfielder Jung Hoo Lee and his brother-in-law, pitcher Woo-Suk Go.

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.