Cubs Phenom Target Wants to Play in 'Large Market'

One of the players that the Chicago Cubs are targeting this offseason wants to play in a large market. The Japanese phenom is reportedly prioritizing that during his free agency search.

The Chicago Cubs have shown interest in an upcoming free agent pitcher from Japan.

They aren't the only ones either.

Virtually every team would like to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto to their team. Almost half the league has been confirmed to have sent a representative of their organization to watch him play in Japan.

Yamamoto has completely dominated the Nippon Professional Baseball league, winning what they call the quadruple crown, leading the league in wins, winning percentage, ERA and strikeouts for the past three seasons.

The 25-year-old has made it known that he is ready to make the leap to Major League Baseball this winter.

According to Will Sammon of The Athletic, Yamamoto would like to play in a large market.

"Similar to how Senga felt last offseason, Yamamoto covets the opportunity to play in a large market, league sources say," he writes.

The "Senga" that Sammon mentioned is Kodai Senga of the New York Mets, who came over from Japan last offseason.

"It’s unknown if Yamamoto will visit cities the same way Senga did — though the pitchers share the same agency, Wasserman," Sammon reports.

The Cubs have their own Japanese phenom, Seiya Suzuki, who joined their team in 2022 after being posted as a free agent available to all 30 MLB teams.

Chicago residing in a large market could also help their cause if they want to pitch Yamamoto when his negotiating period begins.

The Cubs could still be looking for a starting pitcher in free agency and Yamamoto might be the best one that is available.

Making the transition from NPB to the MLB always presents challenge, but Senga showed that a pitcher can be immediately effective after his dominant rookie season with the Mets.

This situation will certainly be one to monitor as one of the most talented Japanese pitchers in a while is set to make his move to the United States.