After landing a big fish, the Yankees will make a big move to attract another Monday.Brian Cashman and Co. will meet with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and his representatives in Southern California as they continue their pursuit of the Japanese right-hander.
While the trade for Juan Soto marked the Yankees’ first big move of the offseason, landing Yamamoto – in the middle of a slew of big teams pursuing him – would serve as a double highlight as they look to put their chips in midway through the season. Season to push the table.The Yankees watched Yamamoto a lot, including when Cashman flew to Japan in September and saw him throw a no-hitter.Many of Cashman’s lieutenants have also personally scouted Yamamoto, so the Yankees are confident in the 25-year-old’s potential. “We were impressed,” Cashman said at last week’s winter meetings. “There are reasons why we send our professional recruiters there and have a recruiter there to make sure we don’t miss any opportunities that might present themselves. It’s a great opportunity for everyone and I’ll leave it at that. But he is a very impressive and talented player.Of course, the Yankees have tough competition when it comes to defeating Yamamoto, led by their crosstown rival.Mets owner Steve Cohen and baseball president David Stearns traveled to Japan two weeks ago to meet with Yamamoto and his family. According to Jon Heyman of The Post, the Dodgers are still interested in Yamamoto even after signing Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million contract. Other teams also linked to Yamamoto include the Giants, Red Sox, Cubs and Phillies. This strong competition could help push Yamamoto’s total price tag – including booking fees – up to $300 million. We will be competing,” Cashman said of the offer. “But I don’t know what the other teams are doing – if the agent [Joel Wolfe] doesn’t share the offers, we won’t know what the other teams are doing.” So all we have to do is give our best and do what we think we want to do. We hope we have found the right place for him.”The Yankees appear willing to exceed the luxury tax cap of $297 million to land Yamamoto.They shouldered Soto’s entire salary (expected to be around $33 million in his final year of arbitration) and adding Yamamoto would almost certainly net them more than $300 million in luxury taxes unless decide to plan their salary elsewhere.“This is not a nuanced diamond in the rough,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I think everyone sees [Yamamoto] as a pretty special frontline starter.”To get Soto, the Yankees had to sacrifice right-hander Michael King (plus three other starting pitchers), leaving them with a hole in their rotation. He’ll be led by newly crowned AL Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole, but there are some question marks behind him as Carlos Rodon and Nestor Cortes will look to return to form after injuries and Clarke Schmidt will be tasked with creating a season in which he he pitched a career-high 159 innings.
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