Phillies Target Joins Legendary Company
Awards can be a valuable piece of the puzzle when determining a player’s value. Well, NPB superstar pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto added another to his case for MLB free agency on Tuesday. Yamamoto, who earlier this month won the Sawamura Award, which is the Japanese Cy Young, for the third straight season, was named the Pacific League MVP for the third straight season. It should make a nice conversation piece for the Philadelphia Phillies who are believed to be interested in the 25-year-old star as a free agent.
After he was posted last Monday by the Buffaloes, his agent, Joel Wolfe, told news outlets that at least 11 to 14 teams had reached out to him about Yamamoto in the first 24 hours. Those teams are having Zoom calls and phone calls with Yamamoto and his agent this week while the pitcher does the awards circuit. After the MLB winter meetings next week, he is expected to return to the U.S. and talk with the finalists. He must have a deal by Jan. 4 or he reverts back to his Japanese team, the Orix Buffaloes. His MVP award put him elite company. He became just the third player in Nippon Professional Baseball history to be named an MVP in three straight seasons. The other two are legends — Ichiro Suzuki (1994-96) and Hisashi Yamada (1976-78).
Ichiro played with Orix as well, and that wasn’t lost on Yamamoto when he talked after receiving the award. “I’m happy to have done the same as him,” Yamomoto said. “Everyone looks up to him, and I’m one of those.” Yamamoto is considered the crown jewel of a group of talented Asian players that have either been posted or will be posted soon. 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. Many expect Yamamoto to get a contract in excess of $200 million. On Tuesday, The Athletic tabbed Yamamoto for a seven-year, $211 million deal. 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. In 2023 he had just a 1.21 ERA. He also went 16-6 and struck out 169 hitters in 164 innings.
Yamamoto just wrapped up play in the Japan Series, their country’s equivalent of the World Series. His final game saw him strike out 14 hitters in Game 6, which set a series record. Yamamoto has thrown two no-hitters in his career. He’s also won gold medals for Japan in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
