It finally happened — Shohei Ohtani has officially signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. That also means there could be movement elsewhere in free agency. Not so much in the starting pitching market, though. The most coveted arm at the moment is NPB ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Once he signs, other top hurlers will undoubtedly start coming off the board.
Yamamoto is back in the United States and has been meeting with interested teams face-to-face. With a price tag that could surpass $300 million (which means the posting fee going to the Orix Buffaloes would be around $50 million), who is seriously still in pursuit of the Japanese ace?
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic mentions the following five teams: New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, and Boston Red Sox.
A contingent of important Yankee people flew to Los Angeles to meet with Yamamoto on Monday, but that wasn't his first face-to-face meeting since making the trek back from Japan. ESPN's Buster Olney reported the Giants met with the starting pitcher on Sunday. Let's also not forget that Mets owner Steve Cohen and President of Baseball Operations David Stearns jumped the line to meet with him in Japan before the Winter Meetings, according to ESPN.
The Dodgers have been among the most aggressive teams so far this winter. Signing Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million deal will do that. However, the historic amount of deferrals in his contract has made it easier for Los Angeles to continue adding to a team that's won 100-plus games three times since 2019.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox have finished last in the AL East three times in the past four years. They could use some upgrades to the starting rotation, and new chief baseball officer Craig Breslow wants to do something big to get things going in Beantown, according to Boston.com's Conor Roche.
How long will we have to wait for a decision from Yamamoto? Things can change quickly based on how his market continues to develop. However, Will Sammon and Chris Kirschner of The Athletic noted on December 11 that his decision could come within the next couple of weeks.
