"They've been talking about Yamamoto for years" - Max Muncy isn't surprised by Dodgers' victory in Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes

Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy isn’t surprised that the Dodgers managed to land Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Japanese star signed a lucrative $325 million contract—the highest-ever for a pitcher in MLB history.

It’s a move that surprised many, given that the New York Yankees were also in the mix for Yamamoto. So were the Steven Cohen-owned New York Mets, as were the Boston Red Sox.

However, Dodgers veteran Max Muncy, who has been with the team for about seven seasons now, wasn’t surprised that his team prevailed in the Yamamoto sweepstakes. According to Muncy, the Dodgers had been keeping tabs on Yamamoto for a while.

In a recent episode of the Foul Territory podcast, Muncy expressed how unsurprised he was when Yoshinobu Yamamoto put pen to paper on his Dodgers deal.

“They’ve been talking about Yamamoto for years," Muncy said. "You know it's something I can remember three or four years ago, guys kept talking, you know, when Shohei becomes a free agent, who’s going to go after him? And our guys would always talk about Yamamoto.”

Although Muncy admitted to being surprised about the amount of money involved in both the Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani deals.

“The names don’t really surprise me, the money surprises me. It’s a lot of money. But you know what, we’ll see. We’ll see if they’re worth it. You know, I think they’ve been super high on both these guys for a long time,” Muncy added.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto bagged the most lucrative contract ever offered to a pitcher

Despite having never thrown a pitch in Major League Baseball before, Yoshinobu Yamamoto secured the highest deal ever offered to a pitcher in the league’s history.

However, there’s more to the deal than meets the eye. The Los Angeles Dodgers have laid down clauses for the pitcher. According to the terms of the deal, Yamamoto will only receive the full sum if he remains for the whole 12 years. Yoshinobu Yamamoto also has the choice to opt out at the end of the sixth and eighth years.

Will the new Dodger stay for the entirety of 12 years? Only time will tell.