Superstar Free Agent Pitcher 'Intrigued' by New York Yankees
The New York Yankees have holes to fill in their starting rotation and this would be a major pickup.
According to SNY insider Andy Martino, superstar Japanese free agent starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto is "intrigued" by the Yankees.
Per Martino, Yamamoto is a fan of the prestige and iconography of the Yankees, which makes them strong contenders to land his services. That being said, New York will have heavy competition in their pursuit of signing the Japanese ace, including their crosstown rivals in the New York Mets.
There was also a recent battle between Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and Yamamoto's agent at Wasserman Joel Wolfe over comments Cashman made about Giancarlo Stanton.
At GM meetings, Cashman called Stanton "injury prone," to which Wolfe replied through The Athletic: “I think it’s a good reminder for all free agents considering signing in New York, both foreign and domestic, that to play for this team you’ve got to be made of Teflon, both mentally and physically because you can never let your guard down — even in the offseason.”
As Martino reported, Yamamoto was not aware of this altercation. Cashman and Wolfe are also said to still be on good terms and speaking about a number of clients.
Yankees ace Gerrit Cole just won the first Cy Young Award of his career, and if the team can pair him with Yamamoto atop their rotation next season and beyond it would be a lethal duo.