Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto is heading to the United States later this week, theoretically to meet with the finalists that would sign him in free agency.
“Yamamoto, I think, is a top candidate for the Cubs to get,” MLB.com’s Jon Morosi told Marquee Sports Network during the Winter Meetings on Monday.
He also reported that there could be more teams in on Yamamoto than his countryman, two-time American League MVP Shohei Ohtani, who is also a free agent and is also a player the Cubs are reportedly pursuing.
There was no expectation that Yamamoto would be at this week’s Winter Meetings. He was in Japan last week accepting his third straight Pacific League MVP, an achievement that put him on the level of Ichiro Suzuki in Japanese baseball.
But, if the Cubs made the initial cut with Yamamoto and his agent, Joel Wolfe, there’s a good chance the Cubs will meet with him at some point in the coming weeks.
Yamamoto had Zoom calls and phone calls with 11 to 14 MLB teams last week to winnow down his prospects.
The Orix Buffaloes pitcher has until Jan. 4 to reach a deal. That’s when his 45-day posting window closes. Most experts believe he’ll secure a deal worth at least $200 million.
By waiting a little longer for his in-person meetings, Yamamoto and his reps could squeeze a bit more out of the team he signs with.
At 25 years old, Yamamoto has a 70-29 record. He has a mid-90s fastball, but he is best known for an array of breaking pitches that can befuddle hitters. This season he had just a 1.21 ERA. He also went 16-6 and struck out 169 hitters in 164 innings.
Yamamoto just wrapped up play in the Japan Series, their country’s equivalent of the World Series. His final game saw him strike out 14 hitters in Game 6, which set a series record.
Yamamoto has thrown two no-hitters in his career. He’s also won gold medals for Japan in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
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