The Orix Buffaloes will post Yoshinobu Yamamoto for MLB teams this offseason. The team announced on Sunday that it will take a few days for the Buffaloes to file the application and MLB to officially declare Yamamoto a free agent. Once that happens, Yamamoto will have 45 days to negotiate and sign with an MLB team.
The announcement came after the Buffaloes lost Sunday’s Game 7 of the Japan Series to the Hanshin Tigers. It is the Tigers’ first championship since 1985 and their second championship in franchise history. In Game 6, Yamamoto struck out a Japan Series record 14 batters.
Yamamoto, 25 years old, had an impressive season, going 17-6 with a 1.16 ERA and 176 strikeouts in 171 innings. He won his third consecutive pitching Triple Crown and the third consecutive Eiji Sawamura Award, Japan’s equivalent to the Cy Young. Yamamoto is only the second pitcher in history to win three straight Sawamura Awards.
Yamamoto is considered the second-best free agent available, behind Shohei Ohtani. He is known for his high-grade command over good pitches, including a mid-90s fastball, a swing-and-miss splitter, and a high-spin curveball. Yamamoto’s pitches were effective throughout the season, with each going for a strike at least 65% of the time. This makes him likely to receive a contract worth over $200 million this offseason, potentially surpassing Masahiro Tanaka’s record $155 million contract.
In addition to Yamamoto, other high-end players expected to make the jump to MLB from Asia this offseason include Korean center fielder Jung Hoo Lee and Japanese lefty Shota Imanaga.
