With Juan Soto headed to The Bronx after the Yankees’ megatrade with the Padres, there’s already one superstar on his way to New York.
Will there be another soon?
Neither the Yankees nor the Mets seem especially interested in chasing after Shohei Ohtani, but his landing spot in free agency will certainly have an impact on their respective pursuits of the next-biggest name on the market: Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The Yankees and Mets are considered by some the 25-year-old right-hander’s most likely landing spots, but both teams will still face competition for the pitcher, who is expected to be the next standout from Japan and could start a bidding war that gets him a deal worth perhaps as much as $300 million.
Here’s a look at what the teams in the mix have to offer Yamamoto before his posting window closes on Jan. 4:
Mets
David Stearns, the team’s new president of baseball operations, had an uneventful first winter meetings with the Mets.
Yamamoto could change all that.
Here’s what they have going for them: The organization’s hierarchy, Stearns and owner Steve Cohen, already visited Yamamoto in Japan this offseason.
His countryman, Kodai Senga, is coming off a stellar rookie season after signing with the Mets last offseason, although on a significantly smaller deal.
And then there’s Cohen’s largesse, which — if he wanted to — would allow the owner to blow away any other offer.
But it’s unclear just how competitive the Mets will be after tearing down much of the roster at last year’s trade deadline, when they shipped Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, among others, out of Queens.
Yankees
Brian Cashman already provided a jolt to an anemic offense with the trade for Soto, which came at the expense of considerable pitching depth.
So the Yankees could use another arm, and after Carlos Rodon’s alarmingly poor first season in The Bronx, they don’t have a clear-cut No. 2 after Gerrit Cole.
They made no secret of their desire to land Yamamoto, with the general manager watching him pitch in person during the season.
The Yankees have a considerable track record of success with signing players from Japan, including Hideki Matsui and Masahiro Tanaka, who, like Yamamoto, was an elite 25-year-old right-hander when he came to New York.
Dodgers
Unlike the Yankees and Mets, the Dodgers appear to be all-in on Ohtani.
They should get their answer on the two-way star soon, well before Yamamoto is expected to make his decision.
If the Dodgers do miss out on Ohtani, expect their focus on Yamamoto to become much more intense.
But even if they do get Ohtani, the Dodgers also will be threats for Yamamoto, especially since Ohtani won’t pitch next season following Tommy John surgery and Los Angeles is in need of high-end starting pitching.
Giants
At some point, one of these guys has to end up in San Francisco, right?
The Giants made a well-publicized run at Aaron Judge before the Yankees ended up matching a nine-year, $360 million deal.
San Francisco then pivoted to Carlos Correa, agreeing to a 13-year, $350 million contract with the shortstop before ankle worries scuttled the deal.
Still, the most expensive contract actually handed out by the Giants remains Buster Posey’s deal worth $167 million a decade ago.
Red Sox
Like the Mets, Boston has a new head of baseball operations, Craig Breslow, and he’s remodeling a team that had a rough 2023.
The need for Yamamoto is clear at Fenway Park, where they haven’t had a true ace since Chris Sale was an All-Star in 2018.
From Yamamoto’s perspective, he’ll have to determine how close they are to competing at the top of the AL East.
Cubs
Chicago is reportedly not among the teams making a strong push for Yamamoto, but if the Cubs fail to land Ohtani, there is thought that could change.
Blue Jays
Toronto has emerged as a possible contender for Ohtani but its rotation is already pretty solid and the Blue Jays have other needs.
Others
Plenty of other teams have been linked to Yamamoto, but teams such as the Cardinals have added to their rotation already.
Would the Angels, if they don’t bring back Ohtani, really bring in another big-time pitcher from Japan?
Or would they go the other route and trade Mike Trout and rebuild?
The Phillies are willing to spend and their recent success could be appealing.