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The Philadelphia Phillies have emerged as a surprise contender for 25-year-old Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
While Shohei Ohtani is undoubtedly the biggest fish on the MLB free agent market, Yamamoto, his countryman, isn’t a bad consolation prize.
The 25-year-old is a two-time Pacific League Most Valuable Player and a three-time Japanese Triple Crown winner.
While the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers and Cubs have all been linked to the 5-foot-11 righty, Philadelphia moved to forefront on Tuesday thanks to a report from Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
“I hear they have legit interest in Yamamoto, and to me it makes a ton of sense,” Salisbury said on Philadelphia radio station 94WIP. “They might be a long shot, like I said given their lack of history with Japanese players, but so what? Go out and be aggressive and he might be an awfully good one to add because he’s an immediate contributor and someone who is going to be around for awhile.
“You seem his loosely connected to the Phillies, you more see him connected to the usual suspects like the two New Yorks, the Dodgers. To me, the Phillies are a big market team with a very aggressive owner, a very aggressive front office and an intense and huge will to win and a will to spend money. I know they don’t have history with Japanese players, but why not start one?”
Yoshinobu Yamamoto Is One Of World’s Best Starting Pitchers
Yamamoto pitched a 138-pitch gem in his final game in the Nippon Professional Baseball league to lead the Orix Buffaloes to a win in Game 6 of 2023 Japan Series over Hasnshin.
He also helped Japan to the 2023 World Baseball Classic crown, posting a 2.45 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings pitched.
Safe to say, whichever team lands his signature will be adding a potentially franchise-altering starting pitcher.