Baseball: Orix ace Yamamoto headed for record 1st MLB contract

When Yoshinobu Yamamoto hits the market this winter following his posting by the Pacific League’s Orix Buffaloes, MLB teams expect his contract will easily surpass the $155 million Masahiro Tanaka received, currently the largest for a Japanese player ahead of his American debut.

“He may be the best pitcher we’ve ever seen come out of Japan,” one MLB team’s scout told Kyodo News. “He could get $200 million, partly because of that and partly because of this year’s market.”

While Tanaka was coming off monster seasons in 2011 and 2013, when he went 24-0 to a record for consecutive winning decision...