Yoshinobu Yamamoto has until Jan. 4 to make his decision on which Major League Baseball team he wants to sign with, and the Red Sox hope they can be the ones who secure the 25-year-old this holiday season.
Boston is among multiple teams in contention to sign Yamamoto. The New York Yankees and the New York Mets are viewed as the favorites, according to multiple insiders. But the Red Sox haven’t been counted out as the team the Nippon Professional Baseball star chooses.
Multiple reports said the three-time Eiji Sawamura winner could sign a $300 million deal, but ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Monday reported Yamamoto and his agent Joel Wolfe asked for preliminary offers and to wait until all meetings took place.
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow made improving Boston’s pitching staff one of his top priorities, and while he didn’t specifically say Yamamoto’s name at the winter meetings, the right-hander would significantly help that goal.
The Mets reportedly are Yamamoto or bust, but the Red Sox could have an advantage over the New York teams as pointed out by The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey and Chad Jennings on Monday.
“However, while multiple teams in the mix have a Japanese player currently on their roster, the Red Sox can also claim three Japanese-speaking members of their medical staff in strength coach Kiyoshi Momose — who spent time with Yamamoto’s former Orix Buffaloes teammate and current Red Sox outfielder Masataka Yoshida in Japan this offseason — assistant trainer Masai Takahashi and massage therapist Shinichiro Uchikubo,” The Athletic wrote. “The Mets and Yankees do not have Japanese-speaking medical personnel currently on staff. They are small differences, but in a process in which Yamamoto has been so calculated, small comforts like that could matter, especially since Yamamoto is so in tune with his mobility routines.”
Multiple insiders believe the money will be there for Yamamoto and it will be up to the three-time Pacific League MVP to choose which team he feels best fits his needs.
Boston’s small advantages with its medical staff and Yamamoto’s former NPB teammate could be the difference in securing the top free agent.
