A new report claims the New York Mets are still working very hard to land Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, however, the price tag for the young star is also getting higher and higher.
The next few days should be very important for the Mets. While they are not expected to spend as wildly as they have in previous offseasons, they still have a primary target on the free agent market this month. And that is highly-touted Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Unfortunately for New York, they are just one of many big and mid-market clubs that are hot for the 25-year-old talent. The buzz around the Orix Buffaloes star began late in the season and has only intensified now that teams can ask what it will take to land his services in the years ahead.
With Yamamoto being, arguably, the top arm in this year’s free agent market there was a common belief that his contract could be worth as much as $200 million. However, late last week, ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan revealed that with the interest in him being so high his price could now be as high as $250 million and include a $39.38 million posting fee for the team that acquires him.
New York Mets ‘still in on’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto despite high asking price
The Mets enter the 2024 season with a sizable payroll despite trading expensive aces Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, because they agreed to take on much of the money still owed to them to get better prospects in those trades.
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Nevertheless, SNY MLB insider Andy Martino reported on Sunday that the Mets are “still in on” Yamamoto despite the serious competition and growing price tag. However, he also added that a deal is not expected to be finalized in the next few days in Nashville at the Winter Meetings.
“An outfielder, free agent starting pitching, and relief pitching” is allegedly the New York Mets’ wish list in Nashville, according to Martino.
