Photo credit to Clutch Points
I remember it like it was last week—the day a player received the largest-ever contract for an MLB pitcher. Oh yeah, it was last week.
Last Thursday at approximately 11:15 pm EST, Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed a 12-year $325 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The same Dodgers team that was just in the news two weeks ago for signing Shohei Ohtani to the biggest contract ever in the MLB with a ten-year $700 million deal.
The Dodgers made it a priority this off-season to show the MLB they mean business and are taking steps to win several World Series. Everyone knew the biggest free agent of our time would be Shohei Ohtani, a generational talent. Several teams, including the San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue Jays, and Texas Rangers, to name a few, had their eyes on Ohtani. But, ultimately, they didn’t have what he was looking for. Though he did end up with the biggest contract of all time, it wasn’t about the money for him. It was about a winning culture. Ohtani wanted to commit to a team that was as intent on winning the World Series as he is. This allowed the two parties to negotiate an understanding that Ohtani would defer most of his contract, allowing the Dodgers to sign additional talent who would help them reach their mutual goal. Therefore, Ohtani deferred $680 million of his contract until 2034, currently making only $2 million a year so the Dodgers could sign more players to this year’s team.
The Dodgers Reach Million Dollar Deals
And here they come! First, the Dodgers traded for Tyler Glasnow from the Tampa Bay Rays, signing him to a five-year $135 million deal. Then, last week, came the deal with Yoshinobu Yamamoto. With those three signings this free agency, the Dodgers are spending over $1 billion–more than all 29 remaining teams in the MLB combined, which have totaled only around $900 million this off-season. Ohtani and Yamamoto’s contracts alone combine to total $1.025 billion, and when you add in Glasnow, you reach $1.16 billion.
So what does this mean for the Dodgers? Are they now guaranteed a World Series? No, there are no guarantees in baseball. It is true that they have some of the league’s best talent in Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and now Shohei Ohtani. But there’s no telling how Ohtani will do after he comes back from his second Tommy John surgery, and while he recovers, he will not be able to pitch, though he will still add value as a designated hitter, which he has shown to be have deadly skill.
The other uncertainty the Dodgers face is how Yoshinobu Yamamoto will do in the MLB. Though he is the highest-paid pitcher of all time, Yamamoto has yet to throw a single pitch in the MLB. Now the question is, is it smart for the Dodgers to pay all that money to a guy who still has to prove himself in the MLB? Aside from Shohei Ohtani’s recent success, Japanese pitchers haven’t fared well in the MLB, as evidenced by Daisuke Matsuzaka’s time with the Boston Red Sox. Matsuzaka (AKA Dice-K) was a Japanese phenom signed by the Red Sox, but, unfortunately, his success did not transfer from Japan to the MLB, where he pitched for only seven years with a 56-43 record and 4.45 ERA.
This puts a big question mark next to Yamamoto’s contract and the Dodgers signings this off-season. Only time will tell if these decisions lead to success, and every other MLB team will be watching.