Ace right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) have agreed to terms on a 200 million yen (US$ 1.9 million) increase in salary for the 2022 season.
Yamamoto, who helped Samurai Japan National Baseball Team win the gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and earned Pacific League MVP honours, will earn Yen 370 million (approximately US$ 3.2 million) this season.
Yamamoto, 23, was a No. 4 draft pick in 2016 and signed for a 40 million yen (US$ 360,000) bonus. He made his NPB debut in 2017. His first salary was 5 million yen (a little above US$ 43,000) a year. He has appeared in 123 games since. He has a 39-18 record and a career 2.05 earned run average (ERA). He struck out 548 in 540 innings, allowing 379 hits and 136 walks.
He was part of the Samurai Japan squad that won the WBSC Premier12 2019.
Yamamoto told the Japanese press that he was delighted with the deal. He added that he might use part of his money to help his former high school get new uniforms.
Yamamoto hasn't disclosed any plans for his future but confirmed he is considering testing the overseas market once he is eligible for the posting system.
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