MLB rumors: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers agree to XX-year, $XXXM contract

The Giants have come up short in their pursuit of a superstar free agent yet again.

YES Network’s Jack Curry first reported Thursday that Japanese superstar pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto has agreed to a contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Yamamoto’s contract is for 12 years and $325 million

Hearing Yamamoto will sign with the Dodgers for more than $300 million.
— JackCurryYES (@JackCurryYES) December 22, 2023

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Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Los Angeles Dodgers are in agreement on an 12-year, $325 million contract, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 22, 2023

Yamamoto reportedly was at the top of the Giants' offseason wish list this winter along with fellow countryman and two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani. Now that San Francisco has come up short in both pursuits, the team will turn its attention to a handful of other remaining top-of-the-market free agents.

The 25-year-old Yamamoto was expected to receive the largest free-agent contract of any pitcher -- outside of Ohtani -- this offseason due to his age and exciting ace potential, but his $325 deal actually is the largest pitching contract of all time, surpassing New York Yankees' ace Gerrit Cole's nine-year, $325 million deal.

With Yamamoto headed to the Dodgers, the Giants likely will shift their attention to reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell or the trade market in pursuit of the top-of-the-rotation arm they are looking to pair alongside Logan Webb.