Yankees Used Hideki Matsui in Yoshinobu Yamamoto Pitch, Aaron Boone Says

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the franchise called on former outfielder and designated hitter Hideki Matsui in their pitch to sign Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, according to Brendan Kuty of The Athletic.

Matsui, 49, spent seven season with the Yankees (2003-09), hitting .292 in that time with 140 homers while earning two All-Star bids and the 2009 World Series MVP.

Boone added that Matsui's contributions included "videos and jerseys and things like that," but that he didn't meet with Yamamoto in person.

Yamamoto, 25, is the most prized free agent on the market after Shohei Ohtani joined the Los Angeles Dodgers. His three straight Pacific League MVP awards tied him with Ichiro Suzuki (1994-96) and Hisashi Yamada (1976-78) as the only three-time consecutive winners, and he paired them with three straight Sawamura Awards (Japan's version of the Cy Young).

So the chase to land him has been intense, with teams pulling out all the stops.

The Philadelphia Phillies reportedly had superstar Bryce Harper speak with Yamamoto on FaceTime. Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts reportedly joined the Dodgers' meeting with the starting pitcher. New York Mets owner Steve Cohen not only traveled to Japan to meet Yamamoto but also hosted him at his Connecticut home for dinner.

As for the Yankees, the team has already been aggressive this offseason, trading for Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo in separate deals. Pitching remains a major need, however, as the current staff behind Gerrit Cole has upside but hasn't come together as envisioned.

Carlos Rodón struggled in his first season for the Yankees in 2023. Nestor Cortes' injury history makes him a tough player to rely on. Clarke Schmidt's 159 innings this past season were a career high. And the fifth spot in the rotation is up in the air.

Bumping each of those players down one spot in the rotation would make their individual concerns more palatable, so it isn't shocking that the Yankees covet Yamamoto.

"I'm comfortable with what we have, worst-case scenario," general manager Brian Cashman told reporters earlier in December. "But when there's an opportunity to add more towards the front end of it, potentially, you've got to try to play on that if you can."