Yankees, Mets reportedly meet with Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto again as free agency heats up

FILE - Yoshinobu Yamamoto, of Japan, pitches to Australia in the first inning of a Pool B game at the World Baseball Classic at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Sunday, March 12, 2023. Yamamoto will become a free agent Tuesday and major league teams can sign him through 5 p.m. EST on Jan. 4. Nippon Professional Baseball notified Major League Baseball that the 25-year-old right-hander’s club, the Orix Buffaloes, was posting him for availability to MLB teams. MLB notified the 30 teams of the posting on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023.(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File) (Eugene Hoshiko/AP)
By Ryan Young, Yahoo Sports

Both New York baseball clubs are still making a push for Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

The Japanese ace and this offseason's top free agent met with both the Yankees and the Mets this past weekend, according to The New York Post. He met with a group of Mets officials at owner Steve Cohen's home in Connecticut on Saturday night, and then met with Yankees officials on Sunday.

Both teams have met with Yamamoto previously — Cohen and Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns flew to Japan to meet him, and Yankees officials met with him in Southern California last week — though his latest meeting with the Yankees brass was reportedly at Yamamoto's request. Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner, general manager Brian Cashman, president Randy Levine, manager Aaron Boone and pitching coach Matt Blake all reportedly met with Yamamoto the first time.

It’s not just the Mets and Yankees who have met with Yamamoto recently, either. Yamamoto has reportedly met with the San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox within the last week or so, per The New York Post. The Chicago Cubs have also been in the mix.

Yamamoto, 25, won his third-straight Sawamura award, which is the Japanese equivalent of the Cy Young Award, last season with the Orix Buffaloes. He went 16-6 with a 1.21 ERA in 23 appearances last season while striking out 169 batters and walking just 28.

"He's a gunslinger," a major league official <a class="rapid-with-clickid" data-i13n="elm:affiliate_link;sellerN:New York Post;elmt:;cpos:3;pos:1" data-original-link="https://nypost.com/2023/12/17/sports/yankees-mets-raising-stakes-with-meeting-as-yoshinobu-yamamoto-pursuit-intensifies/?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_campaign=nypost_sports&amp;sr_share=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social" href="https://shopping.yahoo.com/rdlw?merchantId=9575c767-531f-42c3-bda3-e3f30ea685ef&amp;siteId=us-sports&amp;pageId=1p-autolink&amp;featureId=text-link&amp;merchantName=New+York+Post&amp;custData=eyJzb3VyY2VOYW1lIjoiV2ViLURlc2t0b3AtVmVyaXpvbiIsImxhbmRpbmdVcmwiOiJodHRwczovL255cG9zdC5jb20vMjAyMy8xMi8xNy9zcG9ydHMveWFua2Vlcy1tZXRzLXJhaXNpbmctc3Rha2VzLXdpdGgtbWVldGluZy1hcy15b3NoaW5vYnUteWFtYW1vdG8tcHVyc3VpdC1pbnRlbnNpZmllcy8_dXRtX3NvdXJjZT10d2l0dGVyJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1ueXBvc3Rfc3BvcnRzJnNyX3NoYXJlPXR3aXR0ZXImdXRtX21lZGl1bT1zb2NpYWwiLCJjb250ZW50VXVpZCI6IjRhOTVjNjFjLTBiODktNGNlOS04MzRjLWJmMmQxY2JkNDY4MSJ9&amp;signature=AQAAAX8IHjw35mBNz0WT1OlzqR7TcfRLV0wTnGTFlB-Fu7XI&amp;gcReferrer=https%3A%2F%2Fnypost.com%2F2023%2F12%2F17%2Fsports%2Fyankees-mets-raising-stakes-with-meeting-as-yoshinobu-yamamoto-pursuit-intensifies%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_campaign%3Dnypost_sports%26sr_share%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dsocial"><ins>told The New York Post</ins></a>. "He reminds me of David Cone. He just gets the ball and doesn't give a damn and keeps firing until there's no bullets left."

It's unclear when Yamamoto will make his decision, or which way he's leaning. He will be just the latest high-profile free agent to make a move this offseason, following Shohei Ohtani's move to the Dodgers earlier this month. Yamamoto's deal is expected to be worth at least $200 million, if not more. He has until Jan. 4 to officially sign with a team.

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