Everything is set for Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) star Yoshinobu Yamamoto to pitch in MLB starting in 2024.
However, there is a process that needs to be followed before he can sign with an MLB team.
Over the weekend, his NPB team, the Orix Buffaloes, announced that they’ve approved the posting of the right-hander.
That was step one.
Now, the next step is actually posting him.
“Once Yoshinobu Yamamoto is posted, @MLB teams will have a 45-day period in which to sign him, but there’s no mandate that he must wait the full 45 days before reaching agreement. Last offseason, Masataka Yoshida signed with Boston very soon after his window opened,” MLB insider Jon Morosi tweeted.
Once Yoshinobu Yamamoto is posted, @MLB teams will have a 45-day period in which to sign him, but there’s no mandate that he must wait the full 45 days before reaching agreement. Last offseason, Masataka Yoshida signed with Boston very soon after his window opened. @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 8, 2023
Morosi does a great job explaining the step-by-step process.
For those wondering if they need over a month from the moment Yamamoto is posted to learn his destination, the answer is not necessarily.
As we saw last year with Yoshida, these contracts could be worked out very quickly after a player is posted.
Yamamoto is in his prime, at 25 years old, and with seven years of experience in the second-best league in the world.
His career ERA doesn’t even reach 2.00, and he has an electric fastball, a mean splitter, a cutter/slider, and a fantastic curveball.
He showcased his talent and poise last weekend while throwing a complete-game masterpiece in Game 6 of the Japan Series, striking out 14 for the Buffaloes.
You could say that, after Shohei Ohtani, no pitcher will be more coveted than Yamamoto this offseason.
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