Yankees meet with free agent they ‘desperately want’
The Yankees aren’t finished adding pieces to their roster.
On Monday, Jack Curry of the YES Network reported that the Yankees met with Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 25, in Los Angeles on Monday. There, the team’s top executive made a case for how and why he fits with the organization.
As far as how the meeting went, Curry said, “I spoke to someone who is familiar with what happened in this interaction, and they described the Yankees as feeling very positive about their pursuit of Yamamoto.”
It won’t be easy for the Yankees to land the “free agent pitcher who they desperately want,” as Curry said. Yamamoto, who has already met with the Mets and the Giants, is expected to meet with the Red Sox sometime this week, and a few other teams, including the Blue Jays, later on, according to MLB insider Mark Feinsand.
Signing Yamamoto won’t be cheap. ESPN’s Jeff Passan, who likens Yamamoto to prime Tim Lincecum, indicated that the Japanese ace would likely get a deal worth close to $250 million before Christmas. With a posting fee of more than $45 million, whichever team lands the three-time Pacific League Most Valuable Player would pay close to $300 million.
