Former GM Says New York Mets Will Spend Big On Japanese Star

The New York Mets are one of several teams that are in pursuit of free-agent pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

The New York Mets are expected to show top pitching target Yoshinobu Yamamoto the money when it comes to free agency. But does it mean he’ll be pitching at Citi Field full time in 2024?

Jim Bowden, formerly the general manager of three Major League teams, now works for The Athletic. On X (formerly Twitter), he provided an update of what he was hearing in the field when it came to Yamamoto’s free agency.

The Mets have been in since the beginning. They’ve met personally with Yamamoto twice, including team owner Steve Cohen flying to Japan to meet with him face-to-face before Yamamoto even came stateside for his final finalist meetings.

Yamamoto had dinner with Mets personnel last weekend.

The Mets have been relatively quiet in free agency to this point. Yamamoto would be a shot across the bow.

Bowden expects the Mets, or the San Francisco Giants, to make the highest bid for the right-hander. And he anticipates that bid will be between $250-$300 million.

But that doesn’t mean that Bowden sees the Mets as a favorite to land Yamamoto. In fact, he sees the Mets’ cross-town rival, the New York Yankees, along with the Los Angeles Dodgers, as the favorites.

Whoever signs him Bowden expects them to get Yamamoto for anywhere from an eight to 12-year deal.

Whoever signs Yamamoto will be getting a rare player, one that won three straight Pacific League MVP awards, along with three straight Sawamura Awards, which is the Japanese Cy Young.

He is only the third player to win an MVP award three straight years in the NPB, along with Ichiro Suzuki and Hisashi Yamada.

In 2023 Yamamoto went 16-6 with a 1.21 ERA and struck out 169 hitters in 164 innings. He threw his second career no-hitter and threw in the Japan Series, where he struck out 14 hitters in Game 6, which set a series record.

Yamamoto has a 70-29 record. He has a mid-90s fastball, but he is best known for an array of breaking pitches that can befuddle hitters. He’s also won gold medals for Japan in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Whoever signs Yamamoto will owe his former Nippon Professional Baseball Club, the Orix Buffaloes, a posting fee. Bowden estimates that to be around $50 million.

Yamamoto has until Jan. 4 to reach a deal. Bowden expects him to have a deal this week.