The 45-day MLB negotiating window for Yoshinobu Yamamoto opened Tuesday morning after he officially was posted the previous day, and the Orix Buffaloes ace is expected to land the richest contract ever for a Japanese pitcher this winter.
Some have estimated a total outlay worth more than $200 million for the 25-year-old Yamamoto, with the Yankees and the Mets among several big-market clubs planning to pursue the three-time Sawamura award winner — Nippon Professional Baseball’s equivalent of the Cy Young award.
Yamamoto’s contract is fully expected to exceed the record $155 million package the Yankees lavished on Masahiro Tanaka in 2014.
While Tanaka is one of several Japanese starters to find success in the major leagues over the past few decades, the Yankees also have had some costly misses in this regard, with Hideki Irabu and Kei Igawa immediately coming to mind.
Leaving out All-Star closers such as Kaz Sasaki and Koji Uehara, here is a look at some of the best and worst deals and careers for Japanese starters in MLB:
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Shohei Ohtani, Angels, 2018
The second-time unanimous AL MVP won’t pitch in 2024, wherever he signs as a free agent this winter, due to an elbow injury, but the two-way superstar is 38-19 with a 3.01 ERA and 608 strikeouts in 481 ²/₃ innings for the Angels.
Oh, he can hit a little, too.
Ohtani’s next contract certainly will dwarf the bargain-rate $2.3 million international signing bonus he received in 2018 from the Angels, who also spent a $20 million posting fee.
Yu Darvish, Rangers, 2011
A record $51.7 million posting fee and a six-year, $60 million deal brought Darvish to Texas. Now 36, he’s posted a 3.59 ERA and 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings — behind only Chris Sale and Max Scherzer in MLB history among pitchers with at least 1,500 innings pitched — over 12 seasons with the Rangers, Dodgers, Cubs and Padres.
Kenta Maeda, Dodgers, 2016
The 35-year-old righty also is a free agent after his original eight-year, $25 million deal — plus innings and start bonuses that earned him another $47 million — expired last month. He has been a serviceable starter for the Dodgers and the Twins, with a 3.92 ERA over 190 appearances (155 starts).
Yusei Kikuchi, Mariners, 2019
The current Blue Jays lefty came over to Seattle on a three-year, $43 million contract, and despite one All-Star appearance, Kikuchi has posted a 32-37 record and a 4.71 ERA in five big-league seasons.
Kodai Senga, Mets 2023
An Amazin’ debut for Senga in Flushing in the first season of a five-year, $75 million deal.
He finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting with a 12-7 mark, a 2.98 ERA (second in NL) and 202 strikeouts.
Retired
(Note: All pitched for either the Mets or Yankees in their careers)
Hideo Nomo, Dodgers, 1995
Nomo wasn’t the first Japanese hurler in MLB — Masanori Murakami was with the Giants in 1964 — but he was the first to enjoy real success, with two no-hitters, one All-Star appearance and 123 wins in 12 big-league seasons with seven teams, including the Mets.
Hideki Irabu, Yankees (via trade with Padres), 1997
Mostly remembered as a $12.8 million bust — and for George Steinbrenner labeling him a “fat p—y toad” — Irabu did go 24-16 for the 1998-99 championship Yankees.
Masato Yoshii, Mets, 1998
Yoshii made 58 starts (18-16, 4.17) as a serviceable back end of the rotation member on the other side of town in those same two seasons.
Kaz Ishii, Dodgers, 2002
The lefty also pitched for the Mets in the last of his four MLB seasons, going 3-9 with a 5.14 ERA in 2005.
Daisuke Matsusaka, Red Sox, 2007
Arm problems prevented the well-paid Dice-K from repeating his early success in Boston after going 33-15 in his first two seasons.
His original contract cost the Red Sox $103.1 million (a $51.1 million posting and $52 million over six years).
He also pitched for the Mets in his final two big-league seasons.
Kei Igawa, Yankees, 2007
A far bigger bust than Irabu, the Yankees paid a $26 million posting fee and $20 million in salary for Igawa, who posted a 6.66 ERA in 16 appearances (13 starts) in 2007-08.
Hiroki Kuroda, Dodgers 2008
Kuroda didn’t leave Japan until he was 33, but the durable and dependable righty made at least 31 starts in six of his seven seasons (with a 3.45 career ERA) with the Dodgers and the Yankees.
Masahiro Tanaka, Yankees, 2014
The $155 million righty pitched through elbow issues for much of his seven seasons in The Bronx, finishing with a 78-46 record and a 3.74 ERA, while earning two All-Star selections.
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