Japanese Ace Yamamoto Begins MLB Posting

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 25, the ace of the Japanese national baseball team, will take the first step to advance to the Major League.

Japanese media, including Daily Sports, reported today (21st), "Yamamoto's original fastball team, Orix Buffaloes, has completed an application to transfer to the Major League through the posting system."

MLB.COM said, "From 8 a.m. Eastern time on the 21st (10 p.m. Korean time), Yamamoto can negotiate with 30 major league teams, and the negotiations will end at 5 p.m. on January 4, 2024 (7 a.m. Korean time)."

Even before going through the posting process, it was reported that more than 10 clubs in the United States, including the New York Yankees, Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Francisco Giants, were interested in recruiting Yamamoto.

U.S. and Japanese media believe Yamamoto will easily surpass the record of the highest posting amount in Asia of "seven years and $155 million" achieved by Masahiro Tanaka when he signed with the New York Yankees in 2014.

Local media in the U.S., including The Athletic and CBS Sports, predicted that "a club that wants to recruit Yamamoto will have to offer a seven-year, $200 million contract."

Yamamoto became the first Japanese professional baseball player to win four times in a row in the Pacific League for three consecutive years, and this season he has a record of 16 wins and 6 losses with a 1.21 ERA, 169 strikeouts, and a total record of 70 wins and 29 losses with one save and 32 holds with a 1.82 ERA in 172 games. 스포츠토토사이트

Yamamoto has also been a key Japanese pitcher in international competitions such as the 2019 Premier 12, the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, and the 2023 World Baseball Classic.