As the best pitcher in Japan whos been made available to MLB teams at just 25 years of age, Orix Buffaloes right-hander has always been expected to command an aggre sive bidding war. Yamamotos 45-day negotiation window with MLB clubs opened yesterday morning, and hes unsurprisingly drawn widespread early interest. Agent Joel Wolfe of Wa serman, whos representing Yamamoto, last night that hes already heard from 11 to 14 teams. Yamamotos negotiation window officially opened yesterday morning. This is by far the player with the most interested teams that I have ever seen at the beginning of free agency, said Wolfe, an executive vice president of one of the sports largest agencies. As one would expect, Wolfe indicated that Yamamoto isnt approaching free agency with any restrictions based on geography. (Even if Yamamoto does have some specific geographic preferences, those would likely be kept close to the vest if only as a means of retaining leverage in talks.) The list of teams already linked to Yamamoto in free agency nearly outnumbers the Beau Sulser Jersey list of teams whove not yet had public ties to him. The Cardinals, Phillies (even after re-signing ), Diamondbacks, Tigers, Yankees, Mets, Blue Jays, Cubs, Giants, Red Sox and Dodgers have all been reported to have interest in Yamamoto. Thats 11 teams right there, and its surely not a comprehensive list. Yamamoto figures to draw interest from contending clubs and non-contenders alike, given the rarity with which a free agent of this caliber reaches the market at such a young age. Even a team eyeing 2025-26 as a more realistic range for competing could outbid the field for Yamamoto and know that hed be squarely in his prime years when that window for contention is more earnestly open. Yamamoto has been evaluated extensively by MLB scouts, with the consensus being that hes a legitimate No. 1 or No. 2 caliber arm in a big league rotation. Between that ceiling, his age and his brilliant track record in Japan, hes expected to command the largest contract ever for an NPB pitcher making the jump to MLB perhaps a deal in exce s of $200MM (plus the requisite posting fee). Yamamoto has won three straight Sawamura Awards in Japan NPBs equivalent of MLBs Cy Young Award and just posted a career-best 1.21 ERA in 2023. Hes logged a sub-2.00 ERA in four of his past five seasons while punching out better than 27% of his opponents against a tidy 5.7% walk rate. Any team that signs Yamamoto will owe a posting/release fee to the Buffaloes. That fee is equivalent to 20% of the contracts first $25MM, plus 17.5% of the next $25MM (a combined total of $9.375MM), plus 15% of any money thereafter. Using as a hypothetical example, that contract would come with a $35.625MM fee a total outlay of $260.25MM for the signing team. Given Yamamotos youth and the substantial demand for him, it wouldnt be at all surprising if any deal wound up containing an opt-out a few years into the pact, thus allowing him to return to free agency in his late 20s after having the potential to establish himself as a genuine top-of-the-rotation arm in the Majors. Oneil Cruz Jersey