The Los Angeles Dodgers said Wednesday that the Major League Baseball club has signed a 12-year contract with prize Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
MLB.com reported last week, quoting sources, that the team had signed a $325 million deal to acquire the 25-year-old who led Japan's Pacific League in wins, ERAs, strikeouts and winning percentage the past three seasons for the Orix Buffaloes.
"I am truly excited to wear Dodger Blue and can't wait to play in front of a packed Dodger Stadium," Yamamoto said in a statement on the club's website.
Yamamoto, who has become a teammate of two-way star Shohei Ohtani, will speak at a press conference at 3 p.m. Los Angeles time, the club said.
The contract represents the most guaranteed dollars for a pitcher, surpassing Gerrit Cole's nine-year, $324 million deal with the New York Yankees, according to the Dodgers.
In announcing the deal, the Dodgers posted a video featuring Yamamoto wearing a jersey with 18 on their X social media account.
Yamamoto, the Buffaloes' fourth-round draft pick ahead of the 2017 season, had a 16-6 record with a career-best 1.21 ERA and 169 strikeouts over 164 innings in 23 games this year.
He won the Eiji Sawamura Award for Japanese baseball's top starting pitcher in the past three seasons, helping Orix win three league pennants over the same span.
To secure Yamamoto, the Dodgers are expected to pay a posting fee of around $50.6 million to the Buffaloes.
