Latest MLB rumors on Yamamoto to the Yankees, Framber Valdez and other top free agents

The MLB free agent rumor mill continues to turn. Speculation revolving around the remaining stars available has reached its peak. Every mention of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Framber Valdez, or Cody Bellinger is met with remarkable skepticism or assurance that exactly what was reported will come to be. Even mention of these players' dog's names are making headlines at this point.

Jung Hoo Lee isn't even a free agent anymore, having signed a six-year, $113 million deal with the San Francisco Giants. Still, his dog, Shohei Ohtani's dog, Yamamoto's dog, all of them have drawn massive attention from MLB fans.

Obviously though, the biggest question on everyone's minds are where these players will land. Here are the latest rumors surrounding some of the biggest free agents.

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Latest rumors on Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Giants are out on Yamamoto

Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports that the Giants have been told that they are out on the bidding for Yamamoto.

The Giants have now missed on Ohtani and Yamamoto this offseason. While the team was able to land Jung Hoo Lee, the team made several statements coming into this offseason claiming that they would not be outbid by anyone else. They also seemed certain that they would land one of either Ohtani or Yamamoto.

The Giants are still in the running for players like Blake Snell and Cody Bellinger, and they still have all the money they were going to spend on Ohtani and Yamamoto. The ball is in their court.

Will Yamamoto be in attendance for Thursday Night Football alongside Shohei Ohtani?

Hot Stove season is at full power right now as we have conflicting reports on Yamamoto's Thursday night plans.

Yamamoto is believed to be in Los Angeles and will be in attendance for Thursday Night Football between the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints. Early reports indicated that he will be joined by Shohei Ohtani.

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal though, reports that contrary to the report above, Yamamoto will not be in attendance at SoFi Stadium. Rosenthal adds that Ohtani may be, but he seems confident that Yamamoto absolutely will not.

Rosenthal's confidence pours ice on what was a very hot rumor. Regardless of which report is correct, there will certainly be several cameras on Ohtani and Yamamoto if either or both are in attendance.

Yankees seen as frontrunners

MLB Network's Jon Morosi said this morning that the Yankees are believed to be the frontrunners for Yamamoto. He added that he agrees with that statement.

Yamamoto met with the Yankees on Sunday, per his request. The Yankees are desperate for starting pitching, and while the addition of Yamamoto would be huge for New York, they likely will not stop their spending there.

Rumors indicate that the Yankees will look to add another pitcher alongside Yamamoto. It will most likely be Frankie Montas, the 30-year-old right-hander who spent almost the entirety of the 2023 season injured. A reunion with 2023 World Series champion Jordan Montgomery could also be on the table for New York if the Yamamoto deal falls through.

Aaron Boone talks meeting with Yamamoto

Thursday morning, Yankees manager Aaron Boone told media that during his meeting with Yamamoto, the pair discussed the team's rivalries with the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros. Boone talked up the atmosphere that Yankee Stadium offers during playoff games, and claimed that he could see Yamamoto light up when they talked about it.

Later in the conversation, Boone also mentioned that the team gave Yamamoto a jersey with his No. 18 on it. "It's his if he wants to keep it," said Boone.

Dodgers making late push

While the Yankees continue to be frontrunners to land Japanese superstar Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Dodgers are making a mighty strong push to convince Yamamoto to come to the West Coast. Per Bob Nightengale, Yamamoto's friends have also stated that he has long admired the Dodgers. Although the reporter states, "the New York Yankees continue to be the favorite to land Japanese pitching star Yoshinobu Yamamoto."

However, the biggest win for the Dodgers this offseason may also be their biggest hurdle in trying to land Yamamoto. While Los Angeles' presentation for Yamamoto was impressive, the inclusion of Ohtani may steer Yamamoto elsewhere, as Yamamoto may want to be the face of the franchise he plays for. Ohtani would prevent that from happening in LA.

Mets bid coming soon?

The New York Mets need an ace after their plan to pair Justin Verlander with Max Scherzer in 2023 failed miserably. Kodai Senga was a pleasant surprise for the team, but he alone, will not be enough to dethrone Atlanta in the NL East.

Yamamoto had dinner with Steve Cohen and several Mets' executives on Saturday, Dec. 16. Not many details of that dinner emerged. What we do know is that much of the Mets' pitch to Yamamoto revolved around reminding the Japanese pitcher that playing in New York would allow him to shine outside of Ohtani's shadow. If the Mets are making such a case, it's likely that people close to the situation believe Yamamoto has the Dodgers at or near the top of his preferred destinations.

Yamamoto is expected to sign at least a $300 million deal. Although official bidding and contract discussions began on Monday, the Mets are expected to announce their bid soon. They would be the first team heavily in the running to submit a bid.

Yamamoto signing could linger into 2024

Per MLB-NPB posting rules, Yamamoto has 45 days since declaring his intent to join Major League Baseball to sign with a team. That makes January 4 the deadline for Yamamoto's decision. While bids will likely fly at Yamamoto left and right very soon, the growing belief from teams closest to Yamamoto is that he will not make his decision until after Christmas. Some people even believe Yamamoto could wait right up until the Jan. 4 deadline.

All the power is in Yamamoto's hands, the longer he waits, the more teams will drive up the price to snag him. It is in Yamamoto's best interests to keep teams guessing until the last possible moment.

Latest updates and rumors on Framber Valdez

The Houston Astros are still in a position to win-now after reaching their seventh consecutive ALCS. That said, the Astros have recently run into money problems. After the collapse of AT&T SportsNet Southwest, the Astros, alongside their NBA counterparts the Houston Rockets, have started their own network, Space City Home Network, and stand to lose potentially $23-$73 million.

As it stands, the Astros are just above the $237 million luxury tax threshold. In order to get below that mark, the Astros are fielding offers for some of their players, including fan-favorite Framber Valdez.

The Astros did not plan on trading Valdez at the start of the offseason, but the ace has drawn interest from several teams, and the team is happy to listen to their offers. Nightengale reports that at least five teams have inquired about Valdez.

Corbin Burnes unlikely to be traded or sign extension

Brewers right hander and 2021 National League Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes is entering his third and final year of arbitration before becoming a free agent. There has been a lot of talk regarding Burnes in a potential sign-and-trade situation similar to what we saw with the Dodgers and Tyler Glasnow. However, Burnes stomped out those rumors during an appearance on Foul Territory.

Burnes was quoted, "I think if a trade-and-extension type of deal came up...it would have to be something that would just absolutely blow you away to get you away from testing the free agent market and being able to choose where you want to go." He continued, "I think that’s one thing every player in their career wants to get to."

Burnes seems to have his mind set on testing free agency, which makes sense. Burnes will turn 30 next year. Just last season, Burnes watched Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer sign lucrative deals worth over $40 million annually each. Both pitchers were in their late thirties. With that in mind, it's hard to judge Burnes for wanting to earn more than the $10 million he earned in 2023 or the $14 million he's expected to earn in 2024.

With Burnes unlikely to sign an extension, odds are that he will not be traded as well. Most contending teams would want the security of knowing they will have Burnes for years to come before trading for him. Burnes' insistency on testing free agency prevents that from happening. If Burnes is to be traded, the Brewers would likely want to squeeze every ounce of juice they can get, meaning the most likely scenario where Burnes is traded is probably the 2024 trade deadline.

Blake Snell and Angels had a recent "dialogue"

After failing to re-sign reigning American League MVP, Shohei Ohtani, the Los Angeles Angels were said to be interested in signing Yoshinobu Yamamoto. However, as the offseason has worn on, it has become abundantly clear that the Angels are huge underdogs in that sweepstakes.

Recently, the Angels met with reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell. The Angels figure that they do not need to wait on Yamamoto's decision and have decided to get out in front of the remaining free agents they are interested in.

White Sox shopping Dylan Cease?

Bob Nightengale claims that the White Sox were disappointed in the Tyler Glasnow deal between the Dodgers and Rays last week, not because they didn't land Glasnow, but because the Dodgers shipped away young starter Ryan Pepiot in the deal. The White Sox and Dodgers had reportedly been involved in heavy trade talks concerning Dylan Cease and Pepiot.

Cease is still on the market though. The favorites to trade for the 2022 AL Cy Young runner-up are the Atlanta Braves and Baltimore Orioles.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB rumors: Latest on Yamamoto, Yankees, and other top free agents