Yoshinobu Yamamoto, born on August 17, 1998, in Bizen, Japan, is a prominent Japanese professional baseball pitcher currently playing for Los Angeles Dodgers in Major League Baseball (MLB). Before joining the Dodgers, he had a successful career in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) with the Orix Buffaloes.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto has already established himself as one of the game’s very best: he was named World Series MVP in 2025 and carries a 2.67 career ERA into the closing weeks of the 2026 season. His estimated net worth is $30 million to $40 million as of September 2026, not the $325 million often quoted in its place, which is the value of his Dodgers contract through 2035 rather than money he has been paid.
He made his MLB debut on March 21, 2024, against the San Diego Padres. Although he had a challenging start allowing five runs in just one inning, he quickly found his footing and secured his first MLB win on April 6 against the Chicago Cubs.Yamamoto achieved the pitching Triple Crown (leading the league in wins, earned run average, and strikeouts) for three consecutive years from 2021 to 2023.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto Biography
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| First Name | Yoshinobu |
| Last Name | Yamamoto |
| Profession | Professional Baseball Player (Pitcher) |
| Age | 28 (as of September 2026) |
| DOB | August 17, 1998 |
| Birth Place | Bizen, Okayama, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Height | 5 feet 10 inches (178 cm) |
| Weight | 176 lbs (80 kg) |
| Relationship Status | Not publicly disclosed |
| Girlfriend | Not publicly disclosed |
| Teams | Orix Buffaloes (NPB), Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB) |
| Net Worth | Estimated $30-40 million (his $325 million figure is the contract, not the net worth) |
| Source of Wealth | Professional baseball contract |
| Salary | 12 years, $325 million (2024-2035); $77 million actually paid through 2026, per Spotrac |
| 1.2M followers (yoshinobu__yamamoto) | |
| Category | Sports/Professional Athlete |
Yoshinobu Yamamoto Professional career
Yamamoto debuted with the Orix Buffaloes in 2017. He quickly established himself as one of the league’s top pitchers. He achieved this remarkable feat three consecutive years, leading the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts.
Yamamoto was posted by the Orix Buffaloes for MLB teams to negotiate. He signed a significant contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers worth $325 million over 12 years, including a $50 million signing bonus. That $325 million is the value of the deal through 2035, not money he has received: Spotrac puts his career earnings at $77 million paid through the 2026 season. The traffic between MLB and Asian baseball runs both ways: Cody Ponce rebuilt his value in the KBO before signing his way back into a major league rotation, and his contract and career earnings trace that reverse route.
Professional Career Overview
| Season | Games | Record | ERA | Innings Pitched (IP) | Strikeouts (SO) | Walks (BB) | Complete Games (CG) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 5 | 1-1 | 5.32 | 23.2 | 20 | 7 | 0 |
| 2018 | 54 | 4-2 | 2.89 | 53.0 | 46 | 16 | 0 |
| 2019 | 20 | 8-6 | 1.95 | 143.0 | 127 | 36 | 1 |
| 2020 | 18 | 8-4 | 2.20 | 126.2 | 149 | 37 | 1 |
| 2021 | 26 | 18-5 | 1.39 | 193.2 | 206 | 40 | 6 |
| 2022 | 26 | 15-5 | 1.68 | 193.0 | 205 | 42 | 4 |
| 2023 | 23 | 16-6 | 1.31 | 164.0 | 169 | 28 | 2 |
Yamamoto has thrown two no-hitters during his NPB career, with his most recent occurring on September 9, 2023. Achieved this remarkable feat by leading the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts for three consecutive seasons.
MLB Career Statistics (through 7 September 2026)
Yamamoto made his MLB debut on March 21, 2024. Three seasons in, his regular-season record with the Dodgers stands as follows (ESPN, 7 September 2026):
- Games started: 73 (18 in 2024, 30 in 2025, 25 so far in 2026)
- Wins: 31
- Losses: 18
- ERA: 2.67 career; 2.67 in 2026, with a 0.90 WHIP
- Strikeouts: 467
- Innings pitched: 428.2
In his debut against the San Diego Padres he allowed five runs in a single inning, and then settled fast. Two years on he is the anchor of the Dodgers rotation: he won the 2025 World Series MVP award after taking Games 2, 6 and 7, becoming the first pitcher since Randy Johnson in 2001 to win three games in one World Series, throwing a complete game in Game 2 and then closing out Game 7 in relief. Across 2024-2026 he is 31-18 with a 2.67 ERA and 467 strikeouts in 428.2 innings, and 7-1 with a 2.25 ERA in the postseason.
Memorable Achievements
- Three-time Pacific League MVP
- Multiple no-hitters in NPB
- Key player for Japan in international competitions, including the World Baseball Classic
Yamamoto’s transition to MLB is highly anticipated, as he is seen as one of the most promising talents from Japan since Shohei Ohtani. His blend of pitching skills and competitive experience positions him well for success in North American baseball.
Yamamoto International Career
Yamamoto has played in Japan international tournaments, including the 2019 WBSC Premier12, the Summer Olympics 2020, and World Baseball Classic (WBC)2023 .
| Tournament | Appearances | Innings Pitched | Earned Run Average (ERA) | Strikeouts | Wins | Team Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 WBSC Premier12 | 5 | 6.2 | 1.35 | 8 | 1 | Japan won the tournament |
| 2020 Tokyo Olympics | 2 | 5.0 | 0.00 | 6 | 1 | Japan won the gold medal |
| 2023 World Baseball Classic | 3 | 7.1 | 0.00 | 12 | 1 | Japan won the tournament |
His achievements in major tournaments like the WBSC Premier12, Tokyo Olympics, and WBC highlight him as one of Japan’s most promising pitchers. International tournaments have become a shop window for pay elsewhere too: Maikel Garcia turned a World Baseball Classic run into leverage, and his contract and earnings breakdown shows how quickly that can reprice a player.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto Pitching style
Yamamoto’s fastball typically sits in the mid-90s but can reach the upper 90s, making it a significant weapon in his repertoire. He employs a rising fastball, which adds to its effectiveness by creating a challenging angle for hitters.
Split-Finger Fastball
- Signature Pitch: His split-finger fastball is particularly notable, often described as a “wipeout” pitch. It boasts high velocity and significant downward movement, frequently breaking into the 90s.
- Effectiveness: This pitch has been instrumental in his strikeout ability; during the 2023 World Baseball Classic, he secured seven of his eleven strikeouts using this pitch.
Curveball
- Style: Yamamoto’s curveball is characterized by its slow, loopy trajectory, similar to those thrown by pitchers like Clayton Kershaw. While effective in NPB, its style has become less favorable in MLB due to advancements in pitch tracking technology that allow hitters to better anticipate its movement.
Secondary Pitches
- Cutter/Slider: He also mixes in a high-velocity cutter, which serves as an effective secondary offering alongside his splitter and fastball. Additionally, he occasionally uses a mid-80s sweeper-style slider.
Yamamoto is praised for his exceptional command on the mound, averaging just 2.1 walks per nine innings during his NPB career. His unique pitching mechanics leverage flexibility and mobility, enhancing both his delivery and pitch effectiveness. Command and swing-and-miss stuff are what the market pays for at the top of a rotation, which is why arms like Freddy Peralta hold their value; his salary and career earnings show what that profile is worth on a team-friendly deal.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto Net Worth and Salary
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Japanese professional baseball pitcher, has an estimated net worth of $30 million to $40 million as of September 2026. Celebrity Net Worth publishes $40 million, which sits at the top of what the arithmetic supports; more conservative trackers put him nearer $20-30 million. The $325 million that circulates as his net worth is the value of his Dodgers contract through 2035, and most of it has not been paid yet.
Prior to joining the MLB, Yamamoto played for the Orix Buffaloes in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league from 2017 to 2023. His NPB pay was a fraction of what he earns now: his 2023 salary of 650 million yen, roughly $4.9 million, was a club record for Orix and one of the highest in Japanese baseball, and because that was the best-paid year of his Japanese career, his seven NPB seasons combined cannot approach the $40 million this page previously reported for them. The earlier figure also claimed an average 2023 salary of $28 million, roughly six times what he was actually paid, and appears to have confused his Japanese salary with his American one.
MLB Contract
In December 2023, Yamamoto signed a record-setting 12-year, $325 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Contract Details
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Net Worth (estimated) | $30-40 million |
| 2024 Contract | 12 years, $325 million |
| Signing Bonus | $50 million (paid in installments) |
| Average Annual Value (AAV) | $27,083,333 |
Yamamoto’s 12-year, $325 million contract is the largest ever given to a pitcher in MLB history.This deal surpasses previous records for pitchers and demonstrates the Dodgers’ confidence in Yamamoto’s potential.
| Year(s) | Base Salary (per year) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | $5 million |
| 2025 | $10 million |
| 2026 | $12 million |
| 2027-2029 | $26 million |
| 2030-2031 | $29 million |
| 2032-2035 | $28 million |
Yamamoto received a $50 million signing bonus, to be paid in installments ($20 million in February 2024 and $30 million in July 2024). Additionally, the Dodgers paid a $50.625 million posting fee to Yamamoto’s former team, the Orix Buffaloes. Deals of this size are the exception; most major leaguers move up through arbitration instead, a ladder set out in Austin Wells’s Yankees salary and arbitration timeline.
What Yamamoto Has Actually Been Paid
A contract total and a net worth are different numbers, and this page used to print the first as the second. The $325 million is what the Dodgers have committed through the 2035 season. What Yamamoto has been paid so far is $77 million, per Spotrac: a $50 million signing bonus taken in two instalments in February and July 2024, plus base salaries of $5 million in 2024, $10 million in 2025 and $12 million in 2026. His pay steps up to $26 million a year from 2027, and he holds opt-outs after the 2029 and 2031 seasons.
That $77 million is gross. He plays home games in California, where the top federal rate of 37 percent stacks on a state rate of 13.3 percent, road games attract other states’ jock taxes, and MLB agents typically take about 4 to 5 percent. On those rates, something in the region of half the money never reaches him, which puts the ceiling on accumulated wealth from baseball alone at roughly $35 to $40 million before he has spent anything. His seven NPB seasons add far less than people assume: his record 2023 salary with Orix was 650 million yen, about $4.9 million. That arithmetic is why $30-40 million is a defensible range and $325 million is not a net worth at all. The same distinction is worth applying elsewhere on this site — Miguel Rojas’s net worth was published above his own take-home ceiling for the same reason, and even a career as decorated as Shohei Ohtani’s record-breaking run is routinely described using deferred contract value rather than cash received.
Updated 7 September 2026. Contract terms and career earnings verified against Spotrac ($77,000,000 paid through 2026; 12 years, $325,000,000; opt-outs after 2029 and 2031); playing statistics against ESPN as of 7 September 2026; the 2025 World Series MVP award and Game 2 complete game against MLB.com and ESPN match reports; and the 2023 Orix salary of 650 million yen against Japanese league salary reporting. Net worth range reflects published estimates from Celebrity Net Worth and others, checked against the take-home arithmetic set out above.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Yoshinobu Yamamoto
What is Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s MLB record in 2026?
Yamamoto is 12-8 in the 2026 season and 31-18 across his three seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, per ESPN as of 7 September 2026. He is also 7-1 with a 2.25 ERA in the postseason, and was named World Series MVP in 2025.
What is Yamamoto’s earned run average (ERA) in MLB?
He has a 2.67 ERA in 2026 and a 2.67 ERA across his MLB career, with a 0.90 WHIP this season.
How many innings has Yamamoto pitched in MLB?
He has pitched 165.0 innings in 2026 and 428.2 innings in MLB overall, after 90.0 in 2024 and 173.2 in 2025.
What is Yamamoto’s strikeout rate in MLB?
He has struck out 161 batters in 165.0 innings in 2026, about 8.8 per nine innings, and 467 in 428.2 innings for his career, about 9.8 per nine.
How does Yamamoto’s walk rate compare in MLB?
His walk rate remains low: 38 walks in 165.0 innings in 2026, about 2.1 per nine, and 119 in 428.2 career innings, about 2.5 per nine.
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