Prized Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto inks massive deal with Dodgers: reports

Fox News Flash top sports headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

The highest-touted Japanese pitcher in the history of baseball has reportedly shattered the record books.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a 25-year-old who has been named the MVP of the Pacific League in the Nippon Professional Baseball league in Japan for three straight years, has agreed to a 12-year, $325 million deal with, who else but, the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to multiple reports.

The Dodgers continue their massive spending spree in free agency after inking Yoshinobu's World Baseball Classic teammate Shohei Ohtani to a $700 million pact, the largest in North American sports. They also acquired Tyler Glasnow in a trade and then signed him to a five-year, $135 million extension.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Yoshinobu Yamamoto #18 of Team Japan pitches during the 2023 World Baseball Classic Semifinal game against Team Mexico at loanDepot Park on Monday, March 20, 2023 in Miami, Florida. (Christopher Pasatieri/Getty Images)

Yoshinobu's contract is the largest ever given to a pitcher in the history of baseball, breaking Gerrit Cole's $324 million pact he signed in 2019.

It also shatters the record for the largest deal ever given to a Japanese import by more than double the previous amount - that had belonged to Masahiro Tanaka, who in 2014 signed a seven-year, $155 million deal with the New York Yankees. The Bombers also had to pay a $20 million posting fee to the Rakuten Eagles.

The Dodgers joined the likes of the Yankees and New York Mets in the final bidding for the right-hander. 

The Amazins, like the Dodgers, reportedly offered $325 million, while the Bombers' offer was said to be $300 million, but neither