San Francisco Giants Have Met With Japanese Free Agent Pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto

The San Francisco Giants met with Japanese free agent pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Sunday, ESPN's Buster Olney reported Monday afternoon.

The Giants are the latest team who have reportedly connected with Yamamoto, as MLB Network's Jon Morosi said the New York Yankees were also meeting with the 25-year-old right-hander on Monday. New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and president of baseball operations David Stearns, meanwhile, flew out to Japan last week to make their pitch to Yamamoto.

Yamamoto is likely to net the biggest contract of any player remaining on the free agent market, since Shohei Ohtani decided to join the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday. According to the New York Post's Jon Heyman, the Dodgers are also still in on Yamamoto as well.

Source: The Giants met yesterday with pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto. He's got a lot of big market teams bidding for his services.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 11, 2023

Yamamoto is the three-time reigning Pacific League MVP and Eiji Sawamura Award winner, which is given to the top pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball. He has also won three Gold Gloves, four ERA titles, four strikeout titles and a Japanese Series.

The five-time All-Star has thrown two no-hitters in his professional career.

Yamamoto sent 17-6 with a 1.16 ERA, 0.860 WHIP and 9.3 strikeouts per nine innings with the Orix Buffaloes in 2023. Since making his NPB debut in 2017, he is 75-30 with a 1.72 ERA, 0.915 WHIP and 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings.

If he were to land in San Francisco, Yamamoto would immediately give the Giants another potential ace. 27-year-old right-hander Logan Webb has already garnered Cy Young votes in back-to-back seasons – finishing second in 2023 – and he is under contract for another five years.

The Giants' rotation was shaky beyond Webb this past season, though, with aging veterans and spot-starters typically filling in the rest of the spots. Alex Cobb, 36 is coming back on a one-year, $10 million option, but he had to undergo left hip surgery earlier this offseason.

After missing out on Ohtani, San Francisco is more likely to be able to afford Yamamoto, who could earn a contract worth upwards of $300 million.

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