NL West team with an ‘inside track’ to sign Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto (report)
The Winter Meetings have finally arrived and the San Francisco Giants want to make some noise. The Giants are reportedly “strongly in the running” for Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, per The San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser.
Yamamoto’s market is said to be robust with at least 15 teams expressing some level of interest to sign the right-hander hurler.
“Executives from two teams who have had interest in him (Yamamoto) told the Chronicle on Sunday they believe the Giants have the edge,” reported Slusser.
Yamamoto intends to speak with teams via Zoom next week. The Japanese superstar is expected to narrow down the field of teams and take in-person meetings before the end of the year.
The Red Sox remain interested in the top pitching free agent, but other teams are emerging as front runners in recent media reports.
“I think closer in that we’ve got a clearer picture of what the free agent and trade landscape will look like,” said Breslow to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier at the WooSox Foundation Gala on Saturday. “Our priorities haven’t really changed in terms of trying to identify starting pitching that will be a fit and can help us improve both the short-term and longer-term outlook.”
Boston prefers to sign a pitcher without a qualifying offer attached. Yamamoto would not cost a draft pick but only a posting fee and his inevitable contract.
Yamamoto is expected to land a $200 million-plus contract, which is a steep price for someone who has never thrown a pitch in the majors.
If the Giants are indeed the frontrunners for the 25-year-old, he would join ace Logan Webb, Ross Stripling, Alex Cobb and Kyle Harrison.
The Orix Buffaloes posted Yamamoto last month and his window to sign with a big-league team runs to Jan. 4. Orix will receive a hefty posting fee for him from whichever club signs him. That fee is 20% of the deal’s first $25 million, 17.5% of the next $25 million and 15% of the remainder of the contract.
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