12:55pm: The posting window has actually been changed from 30 days to 45 days, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Feinsand adds that Yoshida’s window will officially open tomorrow at 8am Eastern and go until 5pm on January 20th.
12:20pm: The Orix Buffaloes of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball have officially posted outfielder Masataka Yoshida, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. He’ll have 30 days to find a deal with a major league team or else return to the Buffaloes for 2023.
Yoshida, 29, made his NPB debut with the Buffaloes in 2016 and has since established himself as a key contributor at the plate. In 2022, he played in 119 games, hitting 21 home runs and producing an overall batting line of .335/.447/.561. That level of production and Yoshida’s age should lead to him garnering plenty of interest from North American teams. It was reported back in November that this posting was coming, but NPB contracts generally run until the start of December, which delayed the official move until now.
This year’s market for free agent outfielders isn’t huge in terms of quantity. MLBTR’s list of the top free agents featured Aaron Judge in the top spot and Brandon Nimmo at number nine. Those guys are both likely to receive nine-figure deals, but then there’s only a few guys capable of everyday jobs in the middle of the list. Joc Pederson accepted the qualifying offer to return to the Giants, leaving Andrew Benintendi, Mitch Haniger and Jurickson Profar as some of the few mid-market options. Then there are some guys likely to require less cost but with injury risks, such as Michael Conforto and Michael Brantley.
Teams will likely have wide variance in how they evaluate Yoshida, but it’s unlikely he will earn a contract that rivals the top-market guys. Seiya Suzuki was another highly-touted slugger who was posted a year ago and he eventually signed with the Cubs for five years and $85MM. He was 27 years old at the time, two years younger than Yoshida is now. That likely makes it difficult for Yoshida to beat Suzuki’s guarantee, though it’s possible some team values him significantly higher than the Cubs valued Suzuki. For the teams that miss out on the top free agent outfielders, Yoshida should add an interesting new option for the next tier of the market.
There will be a 30-day window where MLB clubs can negotiate with Yoshida’s representatives. If a deal is reached, the signing team will also owe money to the Buffaloes, with that amount being relative to the size of the contract given. Any big league team that signs him would owe the Buffaloes a fee equal to 20% of the contract’s first $25MM, 17.5% of the next $25MM and 15% of any dollars thereafter. If he does not reach an agreement with an MLB team, he will return to the Buffaloes for 2023. Yoshida has already been connected to the Blue Jays, Mariners and Yankees, with plenty of other teams sure to emerge in the next few weeks.
Rangers should sign him to offset the 37 million spent on the greatest of all time and then trade for a starter somewhere
Future Yankee
He’s already wearing blue pinstripes in the picture too!
I believe that is a Mariners uniform !!
Haha! It’s like the witch or the young girl silhouette, right?
Texas Rangers prime time target
Word is that his glove is deficient and he’s on the slow side.
He’ll go to a large market like they all do. This process should be more regulated but like the rest of baseball the coastal boys like their advantage too much.
which coastal team did Seiya Suzuki sign to again?
You know very well the Cubs are a large market team.
Yeah but what does that have to do with “the coastal boys like their advantage too much”?
Obviously you don’t pay attention to baseball enough to know that’s where most of the large markets are located.
The fact that you’re missing the point with what you originally posted speaks volumes about paying attention…
“ He’ll go to a large market like they all do”
What is hard for you to understand about that? We all know who keeps the system that way do.
You’re just playing dumb now…I hope.
They’re also on the coast of Lake Michigan.
i can’t tell if the rangers comments are sarcastic or not. transition difficultly is tough to judge. that batting avg and bb/k say i’m too good for this league. don’t need to hit 50 to prove that. there’s other measures. as a ranger fan, he’d look great. but i think he’ll get more than we think somewhere else. the rangers have money, but i don’t think they’re stupid with it like everyone seems to think.
It’s the ceiling vs floor argument right? Is he a #2 hitter in a line up or #7? Does he hit 12-15 or 25 hrs? I think there’s plenty big league teams with enough payroll flexibility willing to pay for the ceiling. Suzuki got 5/$85 mil, given the age difference it’s likely a 3-4 yr deal, could be $18-$20 mil a season depending on how free agency plays out.
Yoshida will be lucky to get what Akiyama got.
I don’t think a team should be signing him for $18 mil fyi, but it’s not out of the realm for a team to offer a short deal at big money. Question is given the OF market. 2/$36 isn’t absurd given the fact Bellinger may command $20 mil on a 1 yr. Was Syndergaard worth $21 mil, no but it’s a gamble last year? No, but it’s a gamble worth taking for some team and most Japanese stars are just that.
You guys are beyond stupid with it man. 500 million for 2 position players. 56 million for jon gray. You guys were still terrible. 185 million for a broken shell of himself pitcher. Thats 741 million dollars spent on 4 players. I expect Texas to finish 4th in the division again next year. Chris Young will be fired in 3 years. Book it.
They’ve already passed the stupid with their money threshold.
Extraordinary hitter.
Japan’s Juan Soto, except that Yoshida’s BA is 50 points higher.
Yoshida is Japan’s Juan Soto at the plate.
Except his BA is 50 points higher than Soto’s.
He’s also not facing the same quality of pitchers either.
Really, Captain Obvious?
You forgot to mention the smaller ballparks, too.
Well the Jays need a LHH OF and don’t usually spend extremely high like this current FA crop is producing
Give him what Suzuki got and tell him to sign now or never
Buy a lottery ticket. The odds are better than hoping a Japanese slugger can replicate his numbers in MLB.
This guy will be like another Kosuke Fukudome.
@angt222 Interesting comp. Fukudome (no offense) was typically no better than a respectable 4th OFer in the US but was a tremendous hitter in Japan.
2 years older when he came over, though, iirc.
I’m still hoping Seiya doesn’t end up being Fukudome.
Fukudome was still playing in NPB this past
season, by the way.
@Fifty The good news in that regard is Seiya hit well enough his first season to be worth his lineup slot (2.0 rWAR, 2.0 fWAR). His defense might pick up, too, given it was better in Japan—though w/ hitting declining on average in one’s early 20s, he may simply be slowing down.
He’s a pure DH. Bad fielder with tremendous power, but does thar power carry over to the MLB? Tough gamble.
Yeah, this was the guy that posted about wanting to come to the Phils (a blue moon event when it comes to Asian leagues). Looked into him, and the defense and lack of arm and speed makes him a poor fit in Philly, where we already have a glut of DH caliber fielders (although getting better). He is a much better gamble elsewhere…
He doesn’t need to hit home runs if he can maintain anything close to that BA and OBP against MLB pitching — but that’s always the question: can he? Also, his range looks really weak if those NPB fielding stats comport with ours. He’s no Ichiro.
Consulting the Fangraphs profile on Yoshida, I’m wondering if he’s a better fielder than B-Ref’s conventional stats make him appear:
fangraphs.com/prospects/the-board/international-pl…
I wonder if he will be more like Aoki who played for the Milwaukee Brewers. I wouldn’t be surprised if Cubs or Giants get him.
Oakland A’s
Cubs can sign him to pal around with Suzuki. Move Happ to CF. Add Ohtani next year in FA. I like it!!!!
I’d be wary…his stats look an awful lot like Shogo Akiyama. Given his slight build I doubt his power will translate. He is a couple years younger but still….
He won’t be a Brave the Braves haven’t signed a Japanese player since the Kenshin Kawakami disaster.
Hal will not spend the money
Cubs will sign him in hopes of developing a subscription based you-tube channel in Japan to generate revenue. The guy is 5’8 175LB the MLB pitchers will gut him with fast balls.
He will be in Seattle Ichiro will sell him on the city and team. I am not sure why you guys don’t think his power will translate in MLB. Power is power that won’t change. The question is will he be able to hit MLB pitching. That is the big gamble.
People said the same about Ichiro not so much power but being able to hit the ball. I think he turned out pretty good. If he can play an avg OF and hit .295 with 12-18 hrs that will be good.
I would also see Seattle make a run at Ohtani next year. He should be past the not wanting to play with another Japanese player. He has made his name and now wants to win. Tell me if there would be a better line up than Ohtani Castillo Gilbert Ray and Kirby. The order might be different but those 5 would be tough to beat. That has to be a draw for Ohtani. That also would close that Astros gap a lot if not all the way.
After the initial 4-5 guys (Judge, Turner etc), this guy is the best out there in my opinion. with only 17-22 Hr’s, his slugging percentage is awesome.
How does he compare to Hideki Matsui on defense when he came over? I do not remember Matsui being a good defender.
I’d like to see the Mets pivot from Nimmo to Yoshida.