The bulk of the free agency market continues to sit in a holding pattern as Yoshinobu Yamamoto weighs offers from interested teams.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox remain in the mix for the free agent starter as they continue to make their case to sign the talented right-hander.
Yamamoto has started to receive offers from teams as he closes in on signing, with some reports suggesting that number is in the $300 million range.
Yamamoto is a unique option, mainly because he is 25-years-old and has an incredibly advanced arsenal. He could possibly sign a deal that would set a record for a starting pitcher because teams feel his potential in Major League Baseball is worth the investment.
The interest in his services reinforces the hype surrounding his availability, and it’s been said he’s loved by both scouts and analytic models. According to one MLB scout, Yamamoto reminds them of a former Cy Young Award winner, per Mike Puma of the New York Post:
“He’s a gunslinger,” said a major league official who scouted Yamamoto in person. “He reminds me of David Cone. He just gets the ball and doesn’t give a damn and keeps firing until there’s no bullets left.”
Teams were recently informed to provide their latest round of contract offers for Yamamoto, and the expectation is that his decision could push beyond Christmas and into the final week of his negotiating period.
Yamamoto has until January 4th to decide on where he wants to play.
In his final season in Nippon Profession Baseball, Yamamoto went 17-6 with a 1.21 ERA, 0.86 WHIP in 24 games. He captured his third consecutive Eiji Sawamura Award, which is the NPB equivalent of the Cy Young.
Dodgers making offer to Yoshinobu Yamamoto?
The Dodgers are still among the teams who have shown the most interest in Yamamoto, and the free agent starter also took multiple meetings with the Mets and Yankees.
The Dodgers are rumored to have a competitive contract number floating around in their offer to his camp. They have also used Shohei Ohtani as part of their pitch, which was believed to make a positive impact.
Any contract to Yamamoto will have to include a posting fee heading back to the Orix Buffaloes, bringing the overall value of the deal as a much larger investment.
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