MLB Insider Suggests Seattle Mariners Could Be Player For Front Line Japanese Starting Pitcher
Could the Seattle Mariners make a surprise run at free agent starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto?
MLB Insider Jon Morosi of the MLB Network suggests that they should.
"If you imagine a scenario in which Yamamoto signs with the Mariners, that opens up the door for them to trade a Logan Gilbert for the bat they need. It's sort of a two-tiered approach."
It's certainly an interesting idea. The Mariners don't necessarily need Yamamoto because they have top young pitchers like Gilbert and George Kirby. They also have a veteran ace in Luis Castillo. What they really need is a free agent hitter. But to Morosi's point, this could allow them to get a hitter in the trade market, where it's presumably easier for them to get someone. Big free agent sluggers have notoriously been scared off by Seattle's reputation as a pitchers' ballpark.
An MLBTradeRumors article from February of 2023 had more on Yamamoto:
Scouts to whom Sherman spoke raved about Yamamoto’s potential in the big leagues, touting a heater that sits mid-90s and reaches the upper-90s, a “plus-plus” (i.e. 70-grade) splitter, a “world class” curveball, a quick delivery to the plate and the athleticism to field his position well. One evaluator speaking to Sherman tabbed him a “full [scouting] grade” (on the 20-80 scale) ahead of right-hander Kodai Senga, who signed a five-year, $75MM deal with the Mets this offseason.
He went 17-6 this year in the Nippon Professional Baseball League, pitching to a miniscule 1.16 ERA. He struck out 176 batters in 171.0 innings. He was pitching for the Orix Buffaloes, which is the same organization that Ichiro Suzuki played for.
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