MLB Rumors: Yoshinobu Yamamoto Heavily Linked to Yankees, Mets in Free Agency

As the wait for the Orix Buffaloes to post Yoshinobu Yamamoto continues, both the New York Yankees and New York Mets appear ready to make their best offer to sign the pitching sensation.

Per SNY's Andy Martino (h/t Danny Abriano and Alex Smith of SNY.tv), the Yankees are believed to be "strong contenders" for Yamamoto, while the Mets will also be "all over" him when he becomes available.

Martino did add the feeling this week at the league's GM meetings is that the Mets will have a "tougher time" signing Yamamoto than the Yankees.

The Buffaloes announced on Sunday they will be posting Yamamoto for MLB teams, although it's unclear exactly when that will happen.

Once Yamamoto is formally posted, all 30 teams will be able to negotiate with him. The signing team will owe a fee to Orix that is a percentage based on the value of his contract.

MLB.com noted there is an expectation Yamamoto will receive a deal worth at least $200 million.

Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post and MLB Network, the Yankees and Mets are among at least eight teams expected to pursue the 25-year-old. The Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, Detroit Tigers and Arizona Diamondbacks were the other clubs Heyman mentioned.

It's not a surprise that the Yankees would be considered a front-runner for Yamamoto, as they're in desperate need of impact starting pitching behind Gerrit Cole. The right-hander was the only pitcher on their roster who made at least 10 starts and had an ERA under 4.00 last season.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has shown a willingness to be aggressive on the pitching market. He signed Carlos Rodón to a six-year, $162 million deal last offseason with the hope he could be the dominant starter they needed to pair with Cole.

Instead, Rodón struggled with injuries and consistency in his first season in the Bronx. He had a 6.65 ERA and allowed 65 hits in 64.1 innings over 16 starts.

The Mets have tried to build their rotation around aging starters in recent years. However, they traded away Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer midway through last season amidst a disappointing campaign.

Even though the Mets are expected to be focused more on building for 2025 and beyond, adding Yamamoto would at least make them more interesting next season as they continue to add more young players to the major league roster and farm system.

Yamamoto has won the Eiji Sawamura Award, which is given to the top pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball, in each of the past three seasons. He also won the Pacific League MVP award in 2021 and 2022.

In seven NPB seasons, Yamamoto posted a 1.82 ERA with 922 strikeouts and 633 hits allowed over 897 innings in 172 appearances.