Yoshinobu Yamamoto's agent overwhelmed by teams' interest in his client: "By far the player with the most interested teams"

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a right-hander for the Orix Buffaloes, is only 25 years old and is arguably the finest pitcher in Japan, therefore it is predicted that he would attract a high bidder in the MLB. Yamamoto has inevitably attracted a lot of early attention during the 45-day window for negotiations with several MLB clubs, that started Tuesday morning.

Yamamoto's agent, Joel Wolfe of Wasserman, told the Kyodo News that he has already received calls from at least 10 teams, possibly even around 11 to 14 clubs. The formal timeframe for negotiations with Yamamoto began this morning.

“This is by far the player with the most interested teams that I have ever seen at the beginning of free agency,” stated Wolfe, who holds an executive vice president position at one of the biggest agencies in the sport.

Notes from Yoshinobu Yamamoto's agent: - at least 10 teams have already reached out.... - mikemayer22

With reports from MLB.com's Mark Feinsand speculating that Yamamoto's deal could surpass $200 million, it is widely anticipated that he will get the biggest contract outside of fellow Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto's baseball career

In 2017, Yamamoto made his debut in Nippon Professional Baseball with the Pacific League's Orix Buffaloes. After the season, Yamamoto was named the Pacific League's Most Valuable Player. In 2022, Yamamoto pitched the Buffaloes to a 2-0 victory over the Saitama Seibu Lions, recording the fourth no-hitter of the year and the 97th in the NPB.

He was declared the winner of the Eiji Sawamura Award in 2022 for the second season in a row. Additionally, he earned his second Triple Crown in a row as a pitcher. In 2023, Yamamoto blanked the Chiba Lotte Marines with his second no-hitter of his NPB career. By achieving this, he made history in the NPB as the first pitcher to pitch no-hitters in back-to-back seasons.

Yamamoto played for the Japan national baseball team in the 2019 WBSC Premier12 and exhibition games against Mexico. Yamamoto won the event while playing for Japan in the fifth World Baseball Classic in 2023.