New York Mets Still 'In Contact' With Japanese Star Despite Reports
It seemed like the only player the New York Mets were willing to spend major money on this offseason was Japanese phenom Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Despite wishes that they would land the game's best player, Shohei Ohtani, they were never really interested in handing out the type of contract he ultimately received.
Yamamoto was a different story, as they viewed him as the future ace of their staff to pair with Kodai Senga.
After the Mets failed to sign him, they seem content with lower-level moves as they don't view themselves as contenders heading into the 2024 season.
Still, their current rotation is less than ideal and they are looking to sign some additional arms.
A natural pivot point for New York was pursuing another Japanese pitcher, Shota Imanaga, who is quite talented, but not viewed in the same light as Yamamoto.
Imanaga's contract projects to be roughly a third of what the Mets offered the phenom before he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, fitting much more in-line with their rebuilding strategy.
But former MLB executive, Jim Bowden, seemed to damper thoughts they might sign the left-handed starter when he reported the four finalists and the Mets weren't one of them.
However, Joel Sherman of The New York Post, says New York is still communicating with Japanese star.
"And they have remained in contact with lefty Shota Imanaga ... Imanaga has to make a decision in the next few days because a contract has to be finalized — not just an agreement, but a completed physical and a signed document — by the end of the posting period. For Imanaga, that is [Jan. 11] at 5 p.m. So there is urgency to get an agreement at least a day or two before that," he reports.
His projected contract of $100 million could also be decreasing in value according to Sherman as well, because of concerns over a shoulder surgery he had in 2020.
Whether this helps or hurts New York is unknown.
Theoretically, the lower his value goes, the more teams might be interested in taking a chance on the 30-year-old who posted a career ERA of 3.18 in 165 games and over 1,000 innings pitched during his tenure in Nippon Professional Baseball.
There's also a possibility that Bowden's sources are telling him information that Sherman is not getting.
The Mets could very well be out of the Imanaga sweepstakes.
But, based on his impending timeline, they'll seemingly know where they stand sooner rather than later.
