Yamamoto updates: Ohtani, Bryce Harper, and MLB clubs pulling out all the stops

It's been a little quiet on the MLB free agency front as of late. A little too quiet. After the Juan Soto trade and Shohei Ohtani deal set MLB social media ablaze, the inferno has died down with only one unexpected Tyler Glasnow ember popping up since. Outside of that though, the biggest deal in free agency has been...Jung Hoo Lee? Chris Stratton?

All eyes are fixated on star 25-year-old Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, arguably the most talented foreign pitching prospect of all-time. Rumors have swirled and swirled without much fruition. It's become so saturated that any mention of a phone call, dinner, or meeting has MLB fans everywhere convinced Yamamoto's decision is just moments away. In reality, no one has any idea when the news will break.

With that said, here are the latest Yamamoto rumors.

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Several teams have entertained Yamamoto

Since moving to the United States this winter, Yamamoto has met with six teams at least once, Jeff Passan reports. Those teams are the Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, and New York Yankees. The last two have each met with Yamamoto twice.

There is no confirmation on the dollar amounts being waved around at these meetings. While $300 million has been tossed about, actual amounts have not yet been disclosed.

Yamamoto had dinner at Steve Cohen's house

CBS Sports reports that several key members of the New York Mets' front office were in attendance at a dinner for Yamamoto hosted by Mets owner Steve Cohen the night of December 16. Many people anticipated the dinner would push the Mets into frontrunners in the Yamamoto sweepstakes, but nearly two days since, there has been no word of Yamamoto's interest in playing in Queens.

Yamamoto requested a meeting with the New York Yankees

Less than 24 hours after the dinner at Cohen's, Yamamoto requested an audience with the Yankees.

With Yamamoto drawing so much interest, he has all the power in negotiations with teams. Any time the party with all the cards requests a meeting, it's likely very good news. The Yankees are obviously trying to go all-in for the 2024 season with the addition of Juan Soto. Adding Yamamoto alongside Gerrit Cole would make for arguably the best 1-2 punch in baseball.

Bryce Harper made a personal pitch to Yamamoto

As part of the Philadelphia Phillies' pitch to Yamamoto, the team had Bryce Harper talk to Yamamoto via FaceTime. Obviously, a face-to-face meeting would've been preferred if you're a Phillies fan, but this is still a positive development. With January 4 being the deadline for Yamamoto to make his decision, there is still plenty of time for him to tour the United States and have a formal meeting with every team interested.

Shohei Ohtani is also part of the Dodgers recruitment pitch for Yamamoto

The Dodgers have met with Yamamoto at least once, and rumors indicate that Shohei Ohtani was present at the meeting.

Ohtani is obviously a huge draw to any prospective free agent, but it may be especially intriguing for Yamamoto. If the best player in baseball chose the Dodgers, why should Yamamoto choose anyone else? The two were teammates during the World Baseball Classic and already know the feeling of winning a massive baseball tournament together.

When must Yamamoto sign by?

After officially entering the MLB free agent pool on November 20, 2023, Yamamoto has 45 days to reach an agreement, per MLB-NBP posting rules. That would make January 4 the deadline for Yamamoto's decision.

Yamamoto is expected to make his decision before the end of December though. As Jeff Passan reported, the official bidding war and contract negotiations began this morning.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Yoshinobu Yamamoto news: Which teams are pursuing the prize free agent?