First, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was going to the “Thursday Night Football” game between the Rams and Saints.
Then he wasn’t.
The Post’s Jon Heyman put to bed rumors that Yamamoto would be attending the NFL contest in a suite, but the rumblings highlighted the intensity of the ongoing pursuit of the top free agent on the market.
Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reported that the Japanese hurler was set to take in the Rams game at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles from a suite with countryman and newly anointed $700 million man Shohei Ohtani, fueling rumors they would team up on the Dodgers.
Harris later updated his report, saying the “Rams were expecting him to be there, but plans apparently changed.”
Fans and baseball pundits have been grasping for any indication of which way the wind is blowing for Yamamoto, who is expected to ink a deal worth at least $300 million.
The rumor mill is seemingly headed toward the levels hit by Ohtani, who was rumored to be on a Toronto-bound flight by internet sleuths and also connected to a supposed sushi dinner booked by Blue Jays pitcher Yusei Kikuchi by opera singer Clarence Frazer, which Kikuchi later clarified did not happen.
Ohtani, it turned out, never left his Southern California home and later signed his historic deal with the Dodgers.
The Dodgers are one of the several teams in hot pursuit of Yamamoto, who has until Jan. 4 to decide where he’s going to sign.
Other teams jockeying for position to top position include the Yankees, Mets, Giants, Red Sox, Phillies and the Blue Jays.
While it hasn’t reached flight-tracking status just yet, the Yamamoto sweepstakes are in full swing, with teams bringing out the big guns for the 25-year-old who has won the Japanese equivalent of the Cy Young award in three consecutive seasons.
The Mets had him attend a dinner at team owner Steve Cohen’s home in Connecticut, and the Dodgers included Ohtani in their sit-down with the hurler at Dodger Stadium.
On Thursday, Yankees manager Aaron Boon revealed that they gave him a Yankee jersey with No. 18 on it and that their pitch included a video message from Hideki Matsui.
“It’s been fun to get to meet him a couple times and be around him and have conversations,’’ Boone said. “Now we’ll see how it goes. I know all teams are now putting their best foot forward and negotiating. That’s above my pay grade. We’ll see where he lands.”
Yamamoto’s status, much like Ohtani’s rumored flight, is still very much up in the air.
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