The Dodgers agreed to a record-breaking 12-year, $325M contract with P Yoshinobu Yamamoto, "beating out at least a dozen other teams to procure the most coveted starting pitcher on the free-agent market." The deal includes the "most guaranteed money for a full-time pitcher" in MLB history. Yamamoto will get a $50M signing bonus and -- unlike P/DH Shohei Ohtani -- "not have any of his annual $27.08-million salary deferred." The Dodgers also will pay Japanese baseball club the Orix Buffaloes a "posting fee of slightly more" than $50M; bringing their total expenditure on Yamamoto to north of $375M. The Dodgers’ 2024 payroll for competitive balance tax purposes is "now believed to have surpassed" $280M, putting the team past the third luxury tax threshold of $277M. Because of that, any other signings the Dodgers make will "incur a 92.5% surcharge" (L.A. TIMES, 12/21).
Dodgers sign Yamamoto to 12-year, $325M deal
