MLB Rumors: Mets in 'Holding Pattern' amid Yoshinobu Yamamoto Pursuit in Free Agency

Having already had one meeting with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the New York Mets are in a bit of limbo right now as they wait for the Japanese ace to make a decision.

Mike Puma of the New York Post described the Mets as being in a "holding pattern" with Yamamoto because they "don't know if there will be another round of meetings with finalists or if the Japanese pitcher will just pick a team after completing this first lap."

Yamamoto will likely receive the richest contract for a pitcher in free agency this offseason. The 25-year-old was posted for MLB teams by the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball on Nov. 21.

Teams will have up to 45 days to negotiate with Yamamoto's camp before he would return to the Buffaloes for the 2024 season. There's little concern that he won't come out of this negotiating window with a significant deal from an MLB club.

The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey noted on Wednesday that Yamamoto is believed to have spoken with at least 13 teams during the first round of meetings.

The Mets, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays were among the teams mentioned by McCaffrey who likely met with Yamamoto.

The Dodgers are running a full-court press in an attempt to land Yamamoto. The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya and Ken Rosenthal reported Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman were all present for the team's presentation to the right-handed ace.

Based on the number of big-market teams involved, expectations for Yamamoto's contract have increased. MLB.com's Thomas Harigan wrote his deal could "challenge" Gerrit Cole's nine-year, $324 million contract with the New York Yankees as the richest ever given to a starting pitcher.

Among the reasons Yamamoto is attracting so much attention are his age and track record of high-level performance in the second-best baseball league in the world. He's a five-time NPB All-Star who has won the pitching triple crown and Pacific League MVP award in each of the past three years.

Combine that with the fact Yamamoto will pitch most of next season at the age of 25—Cody Bellinger is the youngest high-profile free agent with MLB experience, and he's 28 years old—and it won't be a surprise if he gets a record deal.

Mets owner Steve Cohen has shown he has no problem handing out big contracts if he thinks a player can take his team to a World Series. It was a strategy that backfired on him in 2023, but Yamamoto is significantly younger than previous New York signees like Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer when they joined the team.