After the Yankees finally landed Juan Soto, the Mets expected to be alone in the race for Yoshinobu Yamamoto — not so fast, says Andy Martino of SNY.
On Friday, Martino reported that the Mets were caught off guard by an earlier report indicating that Hal Steinbrenner was willing to significantly increase payroll to land the 25-year-old righty.
It’s not all bad news in Queens, however. Steve Cohen’s trip to Japan to meet with Yamamoto and his family earlier this week was a success. It pulled the Mets into a tie with the Yankees, who have been reserving No. 18 for the pitcher all year, according to Martino.
On Thursday, 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 on ESPN New York’s “The Michael Kay Show.” With a posting fee of more than $45 million, whichever team lands the three-time Pacific League Most Valuable Player will cost close to $300 million.
The crosstown rivals can both afford to carry that type of salary. The Yankees are the richest MLB franchise with an estimated value of $7.1 billion, according to Forbes, and Cohen, the wealthiest owner in baseball, has an estimated net worth of $19.1 billion, also according to Forbes.
Last season, Yamamoto posted a 16-6 record with a 1.21 ERA and 169 strikeouts over 164 innings for the Orix Buffaloes. This earned him a Sawamura Award, Japan’s Cy Young Award equivalent for the third year in a row.
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In September, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was on hand to watch Yamamoto toss a no-hitter. He’s the first pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball history to throw a no-no in consecutive seasons.
“It was just a really enjoyable experience,” Cashman told reporters at the Winter Meetings. “The fact that it was a no-hitter was really spectacular. It’s special, whether you see that in high school, college or the pro…
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