There’s a new update to the Yoshinobu Yamamoto decision timeline
Those of you hoping for a freshly-signed Yoshinobu Yamamoto under your Christmas tree will have to move to your next-best option, as it appears unlikely that Yamamoto will sign with a club before the holidays, according to the latest reporting from MLB columnist Bob Klapisch.
Growing sense among teams bidding on Yoshinobu Yamamato is that a decision won't be made until after Christmas. Could stretch into the January 1-4 window.
— Bob Klapisch (@BobKlap) December 19, 2023
The latest word on Yamamato comes after a round of meetings with interested clubs (including the Red Sox), and with the multiple offers coming in at over $300 million according to reports. Craig Breslow and the Red Sox are allegedly among that group with a $300 million offer for the 25-year-old righty, too.
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This past season, Yamamato won 16 of his 22 decisions in 23 starts, and posted a 1.21 ERA and 0.884 WHIP.
Yamamato also struck out 169 hitters with just 28 walks in 164 innings, and 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.
The belief among many pundits is that Yamamato may very well be the greatest Japanese pitcher to make the jump to the MLB, and that his price tag is more than worth it considering that a team would be buying in on his prime years.
What makes the latest delay on the Yamamato sweeps frustrating for the league is that he is clearly holding up the rest of the market for free-agent starters, with just about everybody waiting for Yamamato to sign before they start making moves to either bolster the rest of their rotation or settle on consolation prizes.
