Red Sox Continue To Be Linked To Top International Free Agent On Market

Boston should be in hot pursuit of the ace pitcher

Scott Neville | Aug 31, 2023

Red Sox Continue To Be Linked To Top International Free Agent On Market /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox's demise this season was led by their faltering rotation which will need to be almost completely revamped this winter.

With James Paxton headed toward free agency, Brayan Bello is the only reliable pitcher on the staff entering 2024. A way to quickly boost the rotation would be to add the top international player expected to join the market this offseason. Fortunately, there is a solid chance the young star will end up in Boston.

"Yamamoto is expected to be posted by the Orix Buffaloes this offseason, adding another intriguing arm to the free-agent market," MLB.com's Mark Feinsand wrote Tuesday. "The 25-year-old has won both Pacific League MVP honors and the Sawamura Award (Japan’s version of the Cy Young) in each of the past two years, and scouts believe he can immediately jump into the No. 1 or 2 spot in a big league rotation the way Masahiro Tanaka did with the Yankees nearly a decade ago."

Feinsand listed the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets and Boston Red Sox as possible fits.

The Red Sox have been heavily rumored to be involved in the upcoming free-agent sweepstakes for Yamamoto. Boston has been spotted scouting Yamamoto all season, including as recently as a few days ago.

Yamamoto has a 1.42 ERA with a 128-to-20 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 0.93 WHIP in 127 innings across 18 games this season in the Nippon Professional Baseball league. He's been a dominant performer in the NPB for years and is expected to be a force in Major League Baseball as well.

The right-hander played alongside Red Sox star Masataka Yoshida both with the Buffaloes and in the World Baseball Classic. Ideally, he'd be a part of the recruiting pitch.

More MLB: Red Sox Loosely Linked To Frontline Starter As Free Agency Nears

Published Aug 31, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu