Report: SF Giants top exec is ‘all-in' on landing Yoshinobu Yamamoto
The SF Giants have long been tied to right-handed starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (#2-ranked free agent). The longtime superstar in the NPB is currently posted to MLB free agency and is drawing interest from nearly every franchise in the league. As the Giants look to both acquire youth and starpower, the 25-year old ace sure looks like a perfect fit from the outside looking in. According to a report by Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic in a roundup of Yamamoto's potential landing spots, Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi completely agrees.
Team Japan pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. (2021)
Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports
"The Giants have become conditioned to free-agent disappointment while falling short in pursuit of Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge, Carlos Correa, and now Ohtani," Baggarly wrote. "But there’s no numbing the pain if they fall short in the Yamamoto pursuit. According to those familiar with Zaidi’s thinking, he has never been so all-in on a free agent in his six years while leading the Giants’ baseball operations group."
It's noteworthy to see Baggarly use such strong language to describe Zaidi's desire to land Yamamoto. After all, the Giants have recently made incredibly aggressive attempts in recent offseasons to sign several superstars. They also just inked center fielder Jung-Hoo Lee to a contract with more than $100 million in guarantees. However, it seems that Yamamoto, who Zaidi traveled to watch pitch last month, is above the rest. It's easy to see why.
Yamamoto is easily the most coveted international free agent without a cap on his earning potential in league history. Yamamoto is still in his mid-20s and has been the best pitcher outside of MLB for the past few years. Yamamoto has recorded a 1.82 ERA with 922 strikeouts and just 206 walks in 897 innings pitched with the Orix Buffaloes over the past seven seasons.
Yamamoto has truly elite command, which allows him to suppress opposing offenses in a multitude of ways. He manipulates the grip on his fastball to generate sink, cut, and four-seam movement on occasion, all of which generally sits in the 92-95 mph range, although he has reached 99 mph. However, he is far from just a contact pitcher. His splitter is generally considered his most devastating pitch and generates consistent swings and misses. He also has a traditional curveball. Yamamoto may truly be the complete package. A bonafide ace. The perfect compliment to Logan Webb.
Baggarly reported earlier this offseason that the Giants would not lose out on Yamamoto because of money, and his comments about Zaidi's sentiment further solidifies that belief. The question is whether Yamamoto is willing to forego opportunities in bigger markets with teams that have more successful recently, like the Dodgers, Yankees, Phillies, and Mets to sign with the Giants. Granted, money is generally the most powerful negotiating tool any team has and San Francisco sure seems ready to blow the market out of the water.
It does make some sense that Zaidi would be more invested in landing Yamamoto than other top MLB executives. Zaidi has thrived finding talent from international professional leagues throughout his career. In fact, he is largely credited with convincing the notoriously cheap Oakland Athletics to offer Yoenis Céspedes a sizable six-year contract that proved to be one of the best moves the team has made this century. During his tenure with the Dodgers, they landed pitcher Kenta Maeda to a long-term contract that proved to be a tremendous value. Since arriving in San Francisco, Zaidi signed Darin Ruf out of the KBO, and he quickly became an impact bat. This year, the Giants have already inked former NPB slugger Yoshi Tsutsugo and Lee.
Despite a growing industry sentiment that the Giants will fall short of landing Yamamoto, and will likely shift to reigning NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell, it's clear the franchise has not given up on their pursuit. Front offices and ownership groups should not be deterred from previous free agent shortcomings if they believe in a player's potential to make an impact. It's a credit to the Giants that despite the criticism that has come from their failed pursuits, they seem to remain committed to trying to land their top targets. And Farhan Zaidi may have never had a top target he wanted quite as much as he wants Yoshinobu Yamamoto in a SF Giants jersey next season.
