Star Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto has agreed to terms to join the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to ESPN sources and multiple reports, ending a frenzied free agency with the second-largest guarantee to a pitcher in baseball history.
The 25-year-old Yamamoto, who has won three consecutive MVP awards and Sawamura Awards — Nippon Professional Baseball’s equivalent of the Cy Young — drew significant interest from the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays. (Please remove the winner from that group.)