Josh Reddick blasts Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s blockbuster deal with the Dodgers: ‘How do you give a guy $325 million without ever throwing a pitch in MLB’
Retired MLB star Josh Reddick signed a contract with Yoshinobu Yamamoto with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday.
The Dodgers won the race to land one of baseball's most in-demand players earlier this week, beating out the likes of the New York Yankees and Mets, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies to sign Yamamoto.
The Japanese free agent reportedly agreed to a 12-year contract worth $325 million with the Dodgers on Thursday.
But Reddick, who retired from baseball earlier this year, criticized the deal and suggested Yamamoto didn't deserve the mega-money deal before he'd proven himself to MLB.
“How do you give someone $325 million without ever throwing a pitch in the MLB,” Reddick wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Retired MLB star Josh Reddick lashed out at Yoshinobu Yamamoto's contract with the Dodgers
Reddick suggested Yamamoto didn't deserve the deal before he proved himself in the MLB
The former outfielder doubled down on his statement when he replied to a fan who posted that “baseball is ruined” and said, “I agree.”
However, Reddick, who won the World Series with the Houston Astros, was criticized by other baseball fans for his post.
Many hit back by bringing up the fact that Reddick won the 2017 World Series title with the Astros, who later found themselves at the center of a cheating scandal involving sign-stealing en route to their victory.
One baseball fan wrote, “How can you have a World Series champion in your biography when it's proven that you cheated to win it?”
“How do you claim a World Series won by cheating,” echoed another.
“How does someone who openly cheated complain when another player followed the rules set forth in the MLBPA CBA?” another wondered. “What shows that you are a terrible union member.”
Fans clapped back at Reddick, referencing the Astros 2017 World Series cheating scandal
Meanwhile, someone fired back, “How do you go from .258 in 2016 to .314 in 2017 to .242 in 2018? That's a better question. Cheater.'
Reports claim that the Mets were willing to match the Dodgers' $325 million offer over twelve years, but the Yankees were only willing to go for a maximum of $300 million over ten years.
It comes just weeks after the Dodgers and Shohei Ohtani finalized a massive 10-year deal worth $700 million.
Yamamoto's contract is believed to include a $50 million signing bonus, which may have been earned by Ohtani deferring $68 million of his salary each year.