NEW YORK (PIX11) -- Reportedly, a decision will be made by Japanese star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto of who he will sign with for years to come.
There are several teams in pursuit. The Toronto Blue Jays, the San Francisco Giants, the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies, the Los Angeles Dodgers and of course both locals here in New York, the Mets and the Yankees.
Yamamoto was at the residence of Mets Owner Steve Cohen in Connecticut over the weekend for another meeting and a dinner and while in the tri-state area, he met once again with the Yankees.
Teams are expected to make their final offers this week with a decision within the next 7 days. As of now, no offer for the righty has surpassed $300 million, but that should change for the Japanese star.
For the Mets, Yamamoto would represent a signature signing this off-season for Cohen and Sterns and an investment not only for this year but for years to come and the ability to pair him with Kodai Senga in the rotation would be fun to watch.
For the Yankees, they want to pair Yamamto with the Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole as Hal Steinbrenner continues to lead an aggressive off-season after a very disappointing 2023 campaign.
The Yankees have not won a World Series since 2009 and even though they are successful as a business, they have failed to win baseball's ultimate prize on the field. Quite simply, Yamamoto is so coveted because he is the best pitcher in Japan.
He is 25 and in the prime of his career and his dominance should translate well to major league baseball. It is rare that we have the Mets and Yankees so heavily pursuing one particular free agent, but it is also rare to have a pitcher of Yamamoto's ability available.
One or both fan bases here in New York could be very disappointed come Christmas, which makes this even more fascinating.
Until next time New York, I'm Marc Malusis.
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