Star free agent pitcher reportedly meeting with Red Sox

With Shohei Ohtani signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers over the weekend, the next domino in the 2023-2024 MLB free agent market can now fall. That domino is expected to be star Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Yamamoto, a 25-year-old righty, opened his posting window back in late November. A star for the Orix Buffaloes of the NPB, Yamamoto has already met with the New York Yankees, New York Mets, and San Francisco Giants. According to a new report, he's expected to take more meetings in the coming days.

On Tuesday morning, MLB.com's Mark Feinsand shared that Yamamoto will meet with the Boston Red Sox "in the coming days." He added that "two or three more teams - including the Toronto Blue Jays - will also likely meet with him."

For a Red Sox team that needs pitching, Yamamoto would be a great get. Many have him as the top pitcher available in free agency this winter.

This past season he went 16-6 in 23 starts, posting a 1.21 ERA and 0.884 WHIP. He struck out 169 hitters with just 28 walks in 164 innings. In September, he threw his second career no-hitter. For that performance Yamamoto won his third consecutive Pacific League MVP, third consecutive Sawamura Award (the Japanese Cy Young Award) and was named to his fifth NBP All-Star Game.

With that resume, a bidding war is expected for Yamamoto's services. Feinsand noted on Tuesday that a total value of $300 million "is certainly in play."

Will the Red Sox be competitive bidding war? We know the team has spoken with other top pitchers on the market already, but none have the pull Yamamoto does right now. However, Feinsand wrote in his Tuesday column that the Red Sox (along with the Chicago Cubs) "are expectetd to take their shot at Yamamoto, though neither is likely to get involved in a bidding war if the Yankees and Mets try to one-up each other."

If new president of baseball operations Craig Breslow wants to make a splash in his first offseason, he'll have no better chance to do so than by winning the Yamamoto negotiations. It sounds like that could be dependent on how much other teams want him, though.

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Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has made it known — and made it known again and again, for that matter — that pitching is the focus for the club in his first offseason on the job.

So it's no surprise that Boston prioritized pitching in their return on the Alex Verdugo trade, and that Wednesday's transaction-heavy day saw a pitcher brought to the club by way of trade with the Mets. Or why the Red Sox have been linked to the free agent market's top options on the starter front between Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto and 2023 World Series champion Jordan Montgomery.

But Breslow's net has included some 'secondary' options, so to speak, with another three pitchers linked to Boston by the game's top insiders as the MLB 'hot stove' begins to truly (and finally) heat up.

One name of considerable interest to the club seems to be Seth Lugo.

A 34-year-old righty, Lugo is coming off a 2023 season that featured an 8-7 record, along with 140 strikeouts and a 3.57 ERA, in a career-high 26 starts for the San Diego Padres. Beyond the numbers, Lugo's arsenal is of interest to any team, especially with the success he had with his sinker and sweeper in 2023.

Lugo was first linked to the Red Sox by Jon Heyman earlier this week, with Heyman noting that the Red Sox were 'stepping up their efforts' with Lugo, while MassLive's Chris Cotillo later reported that a source told him that the expectation was that the Red Sox would offer Lugo a contract.

Given his age and relative inexperience as a starter (Lugo left the Mets for the Padres with the intentions of moving from the bullpen to the rotation), a long-term contract is likely off the table for Lugo, which may very well be right in Boston's wheelhouse even if they were to add a projected high-end starter like a Yamamoto.

MLB Trade Rumors, for what it's worth, had Lugo projected to earn a three-year, $42 million contract on the open market this offseason.

In addition to the Red Sox, Lugo has drawn significant interest from the Atlanta Braves, as well as the reigning National League champion Arizona Diamondbacks. Both teams may have a leg up on the Red Sox if Lugo's aim is to win a championship, which could put Boston in a potentially uncomfortable bidding war of sorts.

Especially with Lugo likely best utilized as a mid to end of rotation type, either as a No. 3 or No. 4 starter.

Righty Lucas Giolito is another name that's been linked to the Red Sox in recent days, with the strongest link coming courtesy of national MLB insider Jon Morosi.

A veteran of eight MLB seasons, Giolito went on a personal tour of the American League in 2023, with stops in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Cleveland. On the mound for a league-leading 33 starts, Giolito posted an 8-15 record, and surrendered what was a league-high 41 home runs in 184.1 innings.

The 6-foot-6 Giolito is a straight shooter who relies heavily on his fastball (he threw his four-seam fastball 42 percent of the time in 2023), and turns 30 next summer. He may very well be one of the most unpredictable options available to a club this offseason, all things considered.

But there's always been considerable promise with the 2012 first-round pick, and beyond his 'top prospect' status from back in the day.

With the White Sox from 2017 to 2023, Giolito had a terrific three-season run from 2019 through 2021 that saw him post two top-seven Cy Young finishes, and earn an All-Star nomination in 2019. Giolito's best season over that stretch came with a 14-win 2019 campaign, which also saw him fan a career-high 228 batters.

Overall, the California-born righty has compiled a 61-62 record, with a 4.43 ERA and 1,077 strikeouts in 1,013.2 innings since 2016.

The Dodgers, Mets, Royals, and Diamondbacks are also said to be in on Giolito, according to Morosi.

Another name linked to Boston's hunt for pitching help came this past weekend, with the Red Sox listed among those 'very interested' in starter Domingo German, according to Mike Rodriguez.

A Yankee since 2017, the 31-year-old German posted a 5-7 record, along with a 4.56 ERA and 114 strikeouts, in 20 games (19 starts) with the Bombers in 2023. German did post career-highs in WHIP (1.08) and BAA (.207) over his 108.2-inning sample, and he even threw a perfect game, but it wasn't enough for the Yankees to have any sort of interest in retaining his services beyond this past season.

Beyond his on-field consistency issues, German also had some significant off-field issues, including a move to the restricted list in Aug. 2023 after he entered an inpatient treatment facility for issues with alcohol abuse.

German was also suspended 81 games by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred in 2020 for violating Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy after he physically assaulted his wife at a charity event hosted by Yankees teammate CC Sabathia. According to reports, German slapped his wife while drunk, and was 'violent' until his wife ultimately hid in a locked room.

German, who has also drawn interest from the Blue Jays and Astros as well as the Red Sox, has a 31-28 record and 4.41 career ERA in 112 games with New York since the 2017 season.