Mets' Division Rival Philadelphia Phillies Meet With Japanese Phenom
Relative to what the New York Mets have done in the past under new owner Steve Cohen, this has been a quiet offseason.
They're hoping to change that by landing the best starting pitcher on the market in Yoshinobu Yamamoto after deciding not to hand Shohei Ohtani major dollars.
The Mets hit last year on Japanese pitcher Kodai Senga, who had a sensational rookie season. They're hoping they can pair the two at the top of their rotation.
But, it looks like New York will have some competition from their division rival Philadelphia Phillies, who met with the phenom on Dec. 14.
Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported, "Yoshinobu Yamamoto is meeting with a Phillies contingent today."
The Phillies had been rumored to have major interest in the starter when it was unclear if they would re-sign Aaron Nola this offseason. Once they got back their ace, the rumors about a connection started to die down a bit.
This meeting today signals that Philadelphia, who isn't afraid to spend, is at least doing diligence on this situation to get in front of someone they still view as a potential star.
The Mets also have serious interest in the phenom.
"The deep-pocketed team from Queens could obviously blow away the field, and Yamamoto seems to be right up new baseball president David Stearns’ alley in that he’s that rare free-agent starter who’s only 25. They obviously hit a home run with the Kodai Senga $75M deal, and Senga surely put in a good word," Heyman wrote in his article.
It's been speculated that Yamamoto could receive a contract as high as $300 million after it was projected he'd get something around $200 million.
The higher the price tag increases, the more New York can offer something no one else can because of Cohen's deep pockets.
