Mets Owner Steve Cohen Reportedly Has Met With Star Pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto
The New York Mets seemingly are pulling out all of the stops to land Orix Buffaloes ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Yamamoto has a massive market and is one of the most intriguing free agents in recent memory. The 25-year-old has the makings to be one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball from the jump and so there are a wide range of teams competing for his services.
New York has been mentioned as one of the favorites to land Yamamoto all offseason so far and it sounds like it's doing everything possible to get a deal done. Mets owner Steve Cohen even reportedly flew to Japan to meet face-to-face with Yamamoto, according to The Athletic's Will Sammon.
"Mets owner Steve Cohen flew to Japan last week to meet with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, league sources told The Athletic," Sammon said.
Yamamoto would be the perfect player for the Mets to build their rotation around. New York could pair him with Kodai Senga to form a fearsome duo at the top of the rotation. Plus, he could help the club for the foreseeable future because he is so young.
The Mets will have stiff competition for him, but it's clear that it's at least in the mix to land him. Senga reportedly has been recruiting Yamamoto and the Mets can offer more money than any other team.
There is no way to predict where Yamamoto will sign. Although this is the case, the Mets seemingly are doing everything they can do, at least.
Update:
According to Mike Puma of The New York Post, president of baseball operations David Stearns accompanied Cohen to Japan to meet with Yamamoto.
Puma says the situation is fluid regarding whether Yamamoto will have a follow-up meeting with the Mets in New York next week before he chooses a team.
