According to a claim by disgraced former general manager turned MLB analyst Jim Bowden, the SF Giants and Boston Red Sox have made contract offers worth at least $300 million to free agent right-handed pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (#2-ranked free agent).
Although early offseason forecasts had Yamamoto signing a $200 million contract, throughout the last week his market has reached a fever pitch. It is hardly surprising that both the Red Sox and Giants are attempting to court Yamamoto with a huge offer given their rivalry in the division.
“The #Giants and #RedSox both making a strong recent push for Yoshinobu Yamamoto both with offers more than $300 million dollars according to sources,” Bowden tweeted. “Certainly others too making strong runs.”
Bowden’s report should be regarded with caution for obvious reasons. Given that Yamamoto is reportedly considering settling with either the Los Angeles Dodgers or the New York Yankees, it appears quite probable that a leak this weekend exposing two competing teams’ big offers would surface. Naturally, it may also mean that the Dodgers and Yankees are holding out hope for the superstar free agent because they haven’t matched the offers from the Giants and Red Sox.
Still, the Giants and Yamamoto have a long history together. According to an early offseason report, the team was certain to sign either Shohei Ohtani or Yamamoto. Though Ohtani eventually signed with the Dodgers in spite of a similar offer from San Francisco (don’t hold that decision against the city), Yamamoto is still unsigned.
At just 25 years old, Yamamoto has already established himself as one of the best pitchers not currently in Major League Baseball. With the Orix Buffaloes Buffaloes throughout the last seven seasons in the National Baseball League, Yamamoto had a 1.82 ERA, 922 strikeouts, and only 206 walks in 897 innings worked.
Yamamoto can put an end to offenses in a variety of ways since he possesses some of the best command in the world. He occasionally produces sink, cut, and four-seam movement with his fastball by manipulating the grip, and his fastball typically resides between 92 and 95 mph, though he has reached 99 mph. His splitter, which consistently produces swings and misses, is regarded as his most lethal pitch. He also throws a great curveball.
This offseason, the Giants have already made a major splash when they inked center fielder Jung-Hoo Lee to a six-year, $113 million deal. Similar to Lee, Yamamoto is among the select few undrafted players that perfectly suit the Giants. The 2023–24 offseason would undoubtedly be the team’s biggest since acquiring Barry Bonds more than 30 years ago if president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi can persuade Yoshinobu Yamamoto to sign with the San Francisco Giants.
Leave a Reply