Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the right-handed ace pitcher who was posted to free agency Monday by his Nippon Professional Baseball team — the Orix Buffaloes — is the second-biggest fish in the free-agency pond behind Shohei Ohtani.
His window for negotiations with MLB clubs began at 8 a.m. ET on Tuesday, and the frontrunners are roughly similar to those in the Ohtani sweepstakes.
Yamamoto has won every major award in the NPB, is only 25 years old, and has an impressively diverse pitching arsenal.
The Mets are slight favorites to sign him given reports of their aggressive interest, but I’m looking at Boston to add him at +400 odds (via DraftKings/Illinois).
After finishing last in the AL East in two of the last three seasons and with a new top baseball executive in town, the Red Sox are eager to build their starting rotation around a young, sterling No. 1 this offseason.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto free agency odds
- New York Mets + 220
- Boston Red Sox +400
- Los Angeles Dodgers +450
- New York Yankees +550
- Chicago Cubs +600
- San Francisco Giants +900
Yamamoto is the square peg in a square hole and would be reuniting with a former teammate in Masataka Yoshida there.
Yamamoto and his potential suitors will have until Jan. 4 for agreement terms.
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