Rarely has there been a craze for a player like there is for Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Samurai Japan ace has taken the league by storm since the day he was posted to MLB. At one point more than 13 teams were after him and even now the biggest franchises still seek the 3x PL MVP. With so much noise surrounding him, is Yamamoto officially the most hyped Japanese player ever? Likely not.

Shohei Ohtani could be the biggest Japanese export given his unique set of two-way skills. But there are other players from the Land of the Rising Sun, who aroused a similar interest like Yamamoto.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto – The Peak of Pitching Interest

Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s free agency has been a sight to behold. From initially starting at $200 million, the numbers have grown tremendously. With some experts now predicting that he can break the $324 million record of Gerrit Cole, the sky seems to be the limit for Yamamoto. Although he’s set to get the highest contract for a Japanese pitcher, players like Masahiro Tanaka and Yu Darvish are the ones who set the ball rolling.

Yu Darvish, as The Athletic described, “is perhaps the most successful of all Japanese pitchers”. The two-time Cy Young award finalist has had multiple $100 million plus contracts, with his posting in 2012 sending many teams into a frenzy. With negotiations stretching to the final day, he signed a 6-year, $60 million contract with the Texas Rangers just 15 minutes before the deadline. 

Darvish’s impact has been such that he agreed to a $126 million deal with the Chicago Cubs in 2018 and then extended that with a $108 million deal with the San Diego Padres. He isn’t the only one with a big contract, though, as there’s also Masahiro Tanaka. 

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Teams like the New York Yankees, LA Dodgers, and Chicago Cubs were his serious suitors. After a month-long deliberation, Tanaka signed with the Yankees for a 7-year, $155 million contract – the largest for a Japanese pitcher until then. But Yamamoto is increasingly looking certain to break even that record!

The absurd new detail about the ace sweepstakes

ESPN’s Jeff Passan recently posted on X that Yamamoto hasn’t had any offers yet. The 25-year-old himself had discouraged teams from making offers, choosing to focus first on how he felt. But things could be changing soon.

Also in the story: All the alleged $300M bids for Yoshinobu Yamamoto — that’s inaccurate, sources tell ESPN. Teams have been asked not to discuss terms yet. But that could change today when bidding, sources said, is expected to begin. Now is when Yamamoto's free agency gets real.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 18, 2023

Earlier reports suggested that a few teams had offered him over $300 million but it seems the serious bids will start from now. With clubs having until Jan 4 to get Yamamoto, they’ll have to be quick. As the clock keeps ticking, we’re getting closer to a record-setting end to this saga.