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Yoshinobu Yamamoto may be the best pitching talent still up for grabs in free agency, along with current NL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, World Series champion Jordan Montgomery and pitching sensation Dylan Cease.
Since Orix Buffallos transferred him from the Nippon Professional Baseball League immediately after losing the Japan Series, the New York Mets have been in hot pursuit of the Japanese sensation in the hopes of bringing him to the Queens.
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"Yoshinobu Yamamoto had dinner on Saturday at Steve Cohen's house with a Mets contingent, The Post has learned" - Joelsherman1
An MLB analyst reported that Yamamoto was observed having dinner with Steve Cohen at his mansion. Cohen is the richest sports owner in the history of US sports. With his mammoth wealth, he aspires to control the choices that New York makes and personally get involved in the hiring process to lure in the best talents, as the Mets haven't had a Fall Classic since 1986.
Fans took to Twitter to mock this meeting as Twitteratis speculated that a deal was in the works and Yamamoto could soon be wearing a Mets uniform. Some fans jokingly even mentioned Cohen's fish as the others looked at the lighter side of this dinner meeting.
"I hope he saw the shark" - JMincone
"Easy to take the free dinner and then not sign with them" - Anthony_Russo97
"Yeah but now it’s been reported he is going to visit Fenway park soon, and the Sox will match any Mets offer, lol. So it continues. Helps being 65-70 mill under the cohen tax" - MccreedyIII
"lmao can’t wait for them to pay him 350 mil" - ImTurkx
"Do we know what food they catered? That will play a huge part on where he signs" - Chosen_ONE4
"Ham & cheese or pepperoni pizza hot pockets?" - fgif
"I went to Disney on Ice last night. Means about the same thing" - apoirier717
"Man hard to go to a man’s home, take his hospitality, and refuse his $300mm offer….look like he’s a met" - MichaelStavsSC
"Red Sox better up their game. Cohen probably handed Yamamoto a Trezor loaded up with Bitcoin ... Bobby Axelrod style. Sox need to back up the truck for this one!" - DerikAllerton
"Why would he pick the Mets??…they are 3rd place team and maybe even a 4th place team in there division!!" - greggg5
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is hunted by the New York Mets
Although at least six other clubs are still interested in signing the Japanese star, Jon Heyman of the New York Post says this is encouraging for the Mets' chances of landing him. Following the revelation last week of Shohei Ohtani's 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he is the highest free agent still available, per the highest 50 list.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto won the NPB pitching triple crown for the third time in a row last season with a 1.42 ERA in 24 starts for the Orix Buffaloes. Together with his spouse, pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, new manager Carlos Mendoza and team president David Stearns, Cohen hosted Yamamoto last night in the hopes he represents his ballclub in the 2024 MLB season.
