Red Sox Reportedly 'Feel Confident' In Pursuit Of Japanese Superstar
Will the Boston Red Sox shock the Major League Baseball world by acquiring the top starting pitcher on the market?
Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow is looking to make a splash in his first season as the leader of baseball operations and has his eye on the most intriguing free agent on the market: Japanese superstar Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
"The Red Sox may not have gotten a second in-person interview after the initial meeting with him in Los Angeles last week, but team sources still feel confident in their pursuit of him," The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey wrote Wednesday. "There is a belief the team is willing to go outside its comfort zone for a deal with Yamamoto, but how far outside that comfort zone remains the question. Yamamoto has taken a very deliberate approach in researching teams he’s interested in and the Red Sox may offer some enticing intangibles.
"In addition to playing alongside his good friend (Masataka) Yoshida, the Red Sox have three Japanese-speaking members of their training staff. Yamamoto’s mobility routine is a key aspect of his training regimen and while it’s a small detail, it could go a long way. However, money talks and the Red Sox have been quiet of late. If they’ve been holding out for anyone, Yamamoto is the one on which to splurge."
It's not worth following the trends of national writers to see who the favorite is, it's pretty clear nobody truly knows, likely including Yamamoto -- if he did, he'd probably already have signed.
It's just good to know the Red Sox feel like they are in the mix and more importantly, seem financially committed to the idea of battling the other heavyweight organizations.
Now we continue to wait and see... mostly wait actually.
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