The San Francisco Giants, who won the battle for Jung-Hoo Lee, have lost their bid to acquire Orioles ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 25.
NBC Sports Bay Area reporter Alex Pavlovich reported on May 22 (KST), “San Francisco backed out of the race to sign Yamamoto, according to a club official familiar with the negotiations. They stayed strong, but Yamamoto will likely end up in Los Angeles or New York.” Shortly thereafter, news broke that Yamamoto had signed a 12-year, $325 million contract with the Dodgers.
Yamamoto is an accomplished ace with a career record of 70-29 with a 1.82 ERA and 922 strikeouts in 172 games (897 innings) in Nippon Professional Baseball. This year, he went 16-6 with a 1.23 ERA and 169 strikeouts in 23 games (164 innings), becoming the first pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball history to win four pitching titles (wins, ERA, strikeouts, and winning percentage) in three consecutive years while also winning the Sawamura Award and Pacific League MVP for the third straight year. He is only the second player in history to win the Sawamura Award three years in a row since Masaichi Kaneda (1956-1958) and the third player in history to win the MVP award three years in a row since Ichiro Suzuki (1994-1996).
Yamamoto surpassed two-time American League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell as the biggest free agent pitcher
Yamamoto, who was posted to the majors this winter, surpassed two-time American League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell as the biggest free agent pitcher. 안전놀이터 He was highly touted for his youth (he’s only 25 years old), a fastball that can reach nearly 160 kilometers per hour, and a sharp, varied mix of pitches and high completion percentage.
Yamamoto’s contract, which was expected to be worth $200 million (KRW 25.99 billion) at the time of publication, eventually exceeded $300 million (KRW 38.99 billion) as competition for his signature intensified, breaking the record for the largest contract for a pitcher in history. In addition to the Dodgers, the Yankees, Mets, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston, and Toronto were also in the mix, but none could match the Dodgers’ overwhelming offer.
San Francisco signed Lee to a six-year, $113 million contract on July 13. After trying and failing to land Aaron Judge (Yankees), Carlos Correa (Minnesota), and Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers), the Giants finally landed a star player. With the momentum behind them, the Giants tried to sign Yamamoto, but were outbid by the rival Dodgers for the ace.
Despite signing Lee to a big contract, the Giants still have room in their budget. According to MLB Trade Rumors, “San Francisco still has plenty of room to spend. According to Roster Resources, the Giants are projected to have a payroll of about $158 million next year. That’s about $30 million below this year’s opening day payroll. They have nearly $45 million in luxury tax space. This gives them the potential to bring in the best player left on the roster. Matt Chapman was a candidate earlier in the offseason, and Snell and Jordan Montgomery are prime starting pitching targets. The acquisition of Jung-Hoo Lee makes that less likely, but the best of the remaining hitters is Cody Bellinger.”
After missing out on Yamamoto, the Giants will now turn their attention to other free agents as they prepare for next season.