The Red Sox will meet with Yoshinobu Yamamoto within the coming days, MLB’s Mark Feinsand stories.
With Shohei Ohtani signed to his record-breaking $700 million Los Angeles Dodgers contract, Yamamoto is the largest star on the free agent market. He’s additionally one of the promising abilities to hit the posting system, coming off his third consecutive MVP and Sawamura Awards (their Cy Young equal) season in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league.
Boston has been linked to Yamamoto all through the offseason and scouted him in Japan this summer season. They even have a possible benefit on their roster; he and Masataka Yoshida have been longtime teammates on the Orix Buffaloes. They additionally performed collectively on Team Japan, and took house the gold medal within the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. The Red Sox outfielder labeled their relationship as a “close” one to the Herald in September.
However, the Toronto Blue Jays can even be assembly with Yamamoto this week, and after shedding the Ohtani sweepstakes to the Dodgers in beautiful vogue, will probably be extremely motivated – and greater than financially succesful – to make a splash. Both American League East groups’ conferences are following their division rival New York Yankees, who noticed him on Monday.
Yamamoto is predicted to obtain a contract of a minimum of $200 million, however with the heated competitors for his providers, may find yourself with a deal nearer to $300M. Of the aforementioned AL East groups, the Red Sox are in one of the best monetary place to signal Yamamoto; after 2024, Boston has not more than $80.6M in assured contracts for every of the next three seasons. At current, solely Devers’ contract goes past the ’27 season. The Blue Jays are presently working with related flexibility, but additionally have to think about stars like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, who will every develop into free brokers in two years. The Yankees, in the meantime, are already two consecutive seasons over the luxurious tax, have a number of giant long-term contracts on the books, and a farm system ranked within the backside ten by a number of evaluators. They can hold spending, however they’re backing themselves right into a nook.
Of course, the competitors from outdoors the division is fierce as properly. To present how severe they’re about him, New York Mets proprietor Steve Cohen and new president of baseball operations David Stearns flew to Japan weeks in the past for a gathering on Yamamoto’s house turf. The Giants met with him on Sunday, and just like the Blue Jays, are below stress to return by with a major signing; final offseason, San Francisco didn’t signal Aaron Judge, then backed out of their 13-year, $350 million cope with Carlos Correa when he failed his bodily. The Dodgers may additionally go for Yamamoto, because of the deferral-heavy construction of Ohtani’s contract.
In different information
Several former stars will probably be in attendance at subsequent month’s Red Sox Winter Weekend in Springfield, Mass.
Wade Boggs, Dennis Eckersley, Carlton Fisk, Fred Lynn, Pedro Martinez, Lou Merloni, David Ortiz, Jim Rice, and Luis Tiant are among the many alumni contingent, the crew introduced on Tuesday.
Source: www.bostonherald.com