New York Mets Miss On Signing Yamamoto
In spite of all the work, the New York Mets will not sign Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
On Thursday Yamamoto agreed to an enormous contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, a deal that will put him on the same team with Shohei Ohtani, his countryman, and Tyler Glasnow, who was acquired in a trade earlier this week.
The deal, reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan, is for 12 years and $325 million. It is the largest guaranteed deal given to a pitcher. The Dodgers will also pay the Orix Buffaloes, Yamamoto’s former team, a posting fee of more than $50 million.
Earlier on Thursday, NBC Sports Bay Area reported that the San Francisco Giants were out of the running for Yamamoto, leaving the Mets to compete with five other teams to sign him.
That included their cross-town rivals, the New York Yankees. So, if Mets fans are looking for a silver lining, at least the Yankees won’t get him, either.
The Mets invested time into courting the 25-year-old superstar. Owner Steve Cohen flew to Japan to meet with him shortly after he was posted. He also hosted a dinner with Yamamoto and team personnel last weekend.
The Mets, like the rest of the teams in contention, provided Yamamoto offers this week.
The Mets will now have to quickly pivot back to the pitching market, which includes Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery.
In 2023 Yamamoto 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.
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.
He is also a three-time Pacific League MVP award winner and a three-time Sawamura Award winner, the latter of which is the Japanese Cy Young.
