Where the Mets and Yankees stand with Yoshinobu Yamamoto after the Winter Meetings
NASHVILLE – As the baseball industry dispersed Thursday and the Winter Meetings ended, the Yankees and Mets remained heavily in the mix for NPB superstar pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the free agency.
In fact, after Steve Cohen’s and David Stearns’ visit to Yamamoto in Japan last week, the Mets seemed better-positioned than they had been before.
Those Mets officials flew 14 hours from New York to Tokyo, ate French/Japanese cuisine with a small group that included Yamamoto, his mother and Kodai Senga’s translator, Hiro Fujiwara, and flew back. The purpose of the visit was to make clear the depth and seriousness of the Mets interest, and to give the pitcher the chance to get to know the team and its top executives. It appears to have been a success.
The Yankees, meanwhile, have a strong desire to land Yamamoto and a willingness to show Evil Empire levels of financial aggressiveness. The Mets had hoped that the Yanks’ acquisition of Juan Soto would take them out of the Yamamoto sweepstakes, but Hal Steinbrenner remains all-in on spending even after completing the Soto trade, per sources.
The Yankees have long been a favorite over the Mets to sign Yamamoto, but the Cohen/Stearns trip seemed to have helped level the playing field.
And of course, there is plenty of out-of-town competition. The Dodgers, Giants, Cardinals and Cubs are among the many teams strongly linked to Yamamoto. Multiple teams plan to top the highest offer, which – depending on who is speculating – could approach $300 million.
"I don’t know if I’ve ever seen so many teams in on a player," said one agent.
"The demand is insane," said one club executives. "This is like an auction."
The Yankees will meet with Yamamoto on Monday. The Mets are waiting to hear if the pitcher wants another sit-down with them.
As of now, people involved in the free agency believe that Yamamoto will sign with a team shortly before Christmas.
