Mets Reportedly Viewed As Front-Runners To Land Star Yoshinobu Yamamoto By Some

It sounds like the Mets could make a major splash in the coming days

The free agent starting pitching market is at a standstill. 

There still are multiple stars available looking for new homes, but there likely won't be another major move made until Orix Buffaloes ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto decides which Major League Baseball club he will play for.

Yamamoto is one of the most highly sought-after free agent pitchers in years and there are a handful of clubs heavily pursuing him, including the New York Mets. The Mets have met with Yamamoto at least twice so far this offseason and it sounds like Yamamoto will be making his decision soon. 

It's unclear who will land him. There have been conflicting reports, but the Mets may be the current front-runners for Yamamoto, according to CBS Sports' Dayn Perry and R.J. Anderson. 

"Twenty-five-year-old right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto is the top starting pitcher on the free-agent market, and his decision may be coming soon," Perry and Anderson said. Thanks to his youth, ace upside, and results, Yamamoto may fetch more than $300 million, and that's before you even add in the substantial posting fee that will be owed to his NPB team, the Orix Buffaloes.

"Several key members of the New York Mets organization were reportedly in attendance for Yamamoto's recent dinner at owner Steve Cohen's house, and that kind of aggressive push, plus Cohen's willingness to spend has perhaps positioned the Mets as frontrunners. Also heavily in the mix, however, are the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, who also have vast resources and have been active in wooing Yamamoto, with some reporters having occasionally name-checked one of those two clubs as the favorite."

This a positive sign, but isn't necessarily an indication that Yamamoto will choose the Mets. Each big club seemingly has been a front-runner for Yamamoto at some point. The Yankees even were mentioned as the front-runner for the young star on Tuesday as well. 

At this point, we're just going to have to wait and see.