Yoshinobu Yamamoto Contract Details: Japanese ace's peculiar opt-outs emerge after $325,000,000 Dodgers move

Yoshinobu Yamamoto is yet to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers, but there is already a lot of speculation on whether he will run out the full course of his contract thanks to certain clauses that are laid down as part of the deal.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed a 12-year, $325 million contract with the LA Dodgers, making him the pitcher with the highest guaranteed sum of money ever in the MLB. However, that will only be possible if the Japanese ace stays for all of the twelve seasons as there are clauses in the contract that he can opt out at the end of the sixth and eighth year.

This means that at the end of the 2029 and 2031 World Series Yamamoto will have a chance to head into free agency. However, as per new details that have emerged, this clause is conditional and is based on the health of the right elbow.

As per Associated Press' Ronald Blum, if the 25-year-old right-hander undergoes surgery on his right elbow and misses 134 days of service time from 2024-29 then the opt-outs will be deferred by two years, which means he will only be able to leave after the 2031 and 2033 World Series. Furthermore, it will also automatically add a 13th-year club option worth $10 million.

How much will Yoshinobu Yamamoto make till 2029?

Even if Yoshinobu Yamamoto decides to leave the LA Dodgers after just six years of service, he is expected to make a lot. The former Orix Buffaloes pitcher will earn $5 million this year, $10 million in 2025 and $12 million in 2026 with a large amount of sum deferred. He also gets $26 million each in 2027, 2028 and 2029.

Part of Yamamoto's contract also included a $50 million signing bonus. As per the report, he will receive the first $20 million of that sum on Feb. 1 and the rest of the payment by July 1.