Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto (25), who signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers on the condition of receiving the highest salary for a MLB pitcher in history, will naturally opt out (break the existing contract and be free again) if he undergoes elbow surgery. He accepted the condition of losing money at the time of signing a contract player contract. Looking at the terms of Yamamoto’s contract, obtained and released by the Associated Press on the 3rd (Korean time), the opt-out period for Yamamoto, who signed a contract with the Dodgers for 12 years starting this year for $325 million (approximately 424.9 billion won), is at the elbow. It depends on whether there is ligament joint surgery (Tommy John surgery) or not .If Yamamoto undergoes elbow surgery between 2024 and 2029 or is on the injured list for 134 consecutive days with an elbow injury, he can opt out after the 2031 and 2033 seasons. If Yamamoto does not use a scalpel on his elbow during the same period and does not waste a long time due to an elbow injury, he can pursue a contract with better conditions as a free agent again after the 2029 and 2031 seasons.

In summary, if Yamamoto pitches for the Dodgers for six years without elbow problems, he will hit the free agent market again in 2029, two years earlier than when he underwent Tommy John surgery. Yamamoto’s opt-out time, which was originally announced during the induction ceremony, was 2029 or 2031, based on the premise that there was no elbow injury. The Dodgers, who gave Yamamoto $1 million more than the nine-year, $324 million contract for right-handed fastball pitcher Gerrit Cole (New York Yankees) and the highest-ever guarantee for a pitcher, put a safety measure in place by opting out in conjunction with elbow surgery .Yamamoto did not have the right to refuse the trade, but he exercised his right to opt out after the season in the year he moved to another team .Additionally, players will not be demoted to the minor league without their consent, and can bring a full-time interpreter, personal trainer, and physical therapist. The Dodgers provide Yamamoto with a hotel suite for away games and round-trip plane tickets five times a year. Yamamoto, who won the Japan Professional Baseball Pacific League’s Best Player Award and the Sawamura Award, Japan’s version of the Cy Young Award, for three consecutive years until last year, will serve as the Dodgers’ first starter in place of the pitcher and superhero Shohei Ohtani, who is unable to take the 토토 mound this year due to elbow surgery. It is evaluated as