It’s becoming more apparent how the New York Yankees plan to go after Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the upcoming weeks.
It’s also obvious that the free-agent pitcher and his agent will be making the decisions, so for MLB teams interested in signing him, it might feel more like a job interview than a chance to court a free agent.
SNY claims that the initial phase of the procedure will begin the following week and that all MLB general managers will require is a phone or a Zoom account.
Joel Wolfe at Wasserman is leading Yamamoto’s representatives, and they will call each team that has shown interest. He told the Kyodo News earlier this week that in the first 24 hours following Yamamoto’s posting by the Orix Buffaloes, he received inquiries about him regarding Yamamoto from “11 to 14 teams.”
Therefore, Wolfe will be phoning a lot the following week.
Following that, Yamamoto is anticipated to travel to the United States for face-to-face meetings. Those meetings will, in theory, be with the people they deem to be the “finalists” for his services.
Yamamoto has leverage, though, because of the timing of those meetings. After the winter meetings, which are scheduled for Nashville on December 4–7, he is not anticipated to meet with teams.
Yamamoto won’t therefore cause a stir at the winter meetings unless he shows up out of the blue. It also implies that teams interested in him will have to weigh their interests in other pitchers—either through trade or free agency—against their interest in Yamamoto.
Teams that have excluded Yamamoto or that Yamamoto has excluded themselves might be freer to pursue other pitching targets in Nashville and in the days following the end of the meetings.
Despite the fact that Yamamoto is already anticipated to demand a contract in excess of $200 million, that might offer him and his representatives a little more negotiating power with his remaining suitors.
Yamamoto has concluded their participation in the Japan Series, which is their nation’s version of the World Series. He struck out 14 batters in Game 6, setting a series record, in his final game.
Yamamoto, who is only 25 years old, has a record of 70-29. Although his fastball is in the mid-90s, hitters are most familiar with his variety of breaking pitches. His ERA for this season was only 1.21. In 164 innings, he struck out 169 batters and finished 16-6.
In his career, Yamamoto has thrown two no-hitters. Additionally, he won gold medals for Japan at the 2023 World Baseball Classic and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
