The Red Sox will reportedly meet with top free agent Yoshinobu Yamamoto later this week.
The Red Sox are rumored to be interested in starting pitchers at the top of the free agent class this winter. Later this week, they will meet with the best available open-market option.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a right-hander, will face the Red Sox in the upcoming days. The Yankees, Giants, and Mets have already met with 25-year-old ace Yamamoto, who was just posted by his Japanese team, the Orix Buffaloes. As he narrows down his final list of candidates, he is anticipated to have a few more meetings. The Dodgers and Cubs are rumored to be interested, as well as the Blue Jays, according to Feinsand.
Before now, it was unknown if Yamamoto, who has been meeting with clubs at the Wasserman agency’s California offices, was still a possibility to sign with the Red Sox. The Yankees sent a group that included manager Aaron Boone, pitching coach Matt Blake, general manager Brian Cashman, and managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner on Monday, according to reports. Though Boston’s precise plans remain unknown, a comparable Red Sox group would include manager Alex Cora, pitching coach Andrew Bailey, president and CEO Sam Kennedy, and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow.
The Red Sox would be considering Yamamoto as a front-end rotation possibility, and for good reason. In 24 appearances (171 innings), he finished 17–6 with a 1.16 ERA and 0.86 WHIP for Orix in 2023. He struck out 26.7% of the batters he faced while walking just 4.2%.
With 188 games (967 ⅔ innings) played, Yamamoto has a record of 75-30 in Japan, 1.72 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 986 strikeouts, and 216 walks. Although Jon Heyman of the New York Post speculated earlier this week that the number of big-market teams interested in him might push his price tag up to $300 million, early projections had him signing a deal in the $200–225 million area this winter. It’s unknown if the Red Sox would be willing to outbid every other team, as they have never awarded a free agency contract worth more than $217 million (David Price).
Unlike Boone and a few other executives from interested teams, Breslow declined to confirm Boston’s interest in Yamamoto during last week’s Winter Meetings in Nashville.
The Red Sox have also been connected to veterans like Seth Lugo and Lucas Giolito, as well as other elite free agents like Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery.
This winter, Breslow has already dealt four times, two of them involving outfielders. Last week, he got Tyler O’Neill from St. Louis and traded Alex Verdugo to the Yankees. He hasn’t taken any action to address the rotation yet, despite his activity. The Nashville market remained stagnant and is said to have depended, at least in part, on Yamamoto’s choice.
Before taking out for Boston on Wednesday night, Breslow remarked, “In a perfect world, we’re walking out of here with starting pitching and we’re feeling really good about that.” “We made every effort to get the ball forward. We’re probably not the only ones who are a little let down in that regard. However, we are only in charge of what we can manage.
