Red Sox's Top Priority, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Reportedly Closing In On Decision

Boston would greatly benefit from the addition

Scott Neville | Dec 11, 2023

Red Sox's Top Priority, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Reportedly Closing In On Decision /

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Boston Red Sox

Will Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow shock his fanbase by securing the top free agent in the baseball not named Shohei Ohtani?

The Red Sox are one of many suitors clamoring for Japanese superstar Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a 25-year-old phenom who is expected to become an instant bona fide ace in Major League Baseball.

The highly-coveted weapon reportedly is close to making his decision. Yamamoto is expected to sign with a team before Christmas according to SNY's Andy Martino.

Yamamoto opened his 45-day posting window on Nov. 21 and has until Jan. 4 at 5 p.m. ET. Apparently, he does not want to wait until the waning minutes of his deadline.

The hard-throwing righty posted a 16-6 record with a 1.21 ERA, 169-to-28 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 0.88 WHIP in 164 innings across 23 starts for Orix Buffaloes in 2023.

Yamamoto has drawn serious interest from the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants as well as a number of other reported suitors.

While it is unknown if the Red Sox have had a meeting with Yamamoto since his first round of Zoom calls, MLB Network's Jon Morosi has been insistent on Breslow's prioritization of the young star.

Given the way that the Red Sox have run the last few seasons, it's hard to be optimistic about the organization's commitment to spending what could end up being $300 million in free agency to one semi-unproven player.

While the fans should be rooting hard for the acquisition of Yamamoto, his signing in Boston or elsewhere will come with one silver lining. Once he signs, the pitching market will finally resume.

Impact starters such as Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery can fall into line, which will spark a domino effect for the entire market. The Red Sox will add multiple arms to their rotation, it's just a matter of the quality that remains in question.

If the Red Sox could lure Yamamoto to Boston, they'd automatically be back in position to field a competitive team for 2024 and beyond. From there, they'd be one more mid-level starter such as Seth Lugo and a few other ancillary pieces away from contention.

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Published Dec 11, 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