Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the 25-year-old free agent star pitcher from Japan, dined at New York Mets owner Steve Cohen's home in Connecticut on Saturday night, league sources confirmed.
It is understood that the dinner went well and participants enjoyed the hospitality and easy conversation, resulting in a generally good connection. During the meeting, the Mets were able to reiterate to Yamamoto why they believe they would be the right place for him. The Cohens welcomed Yamamoto seemingly hoping to offer a nice, personal touch that could help differentiate the Mets from the other clubs competing for the right-hander's services.
The in-person meeting, first reported by the New York Post, was the latest example of Cohen and the Mets doing everything they can to land Yamamoto, the highest-ranked (No. 3) unsigned free agent in The Athletic Free's top 40 Agent Big Board. Earlier this month, Cohen and David Stearns, president of baseball operations, flew to Japan to meet with Yamamoto.
Stearns, manager Carlos Mendoza, pitching coach Jeremy Hefner and Cohen's wife Alex also attended the dinner. Meanwhile, Yamamoto brought his own interpreter. Overall, the meeting was a step forward for the Mets, who placed Yamamoto at the top of their offseason target list.
During dinner, Yamamoto seemed curious and asked Mets officials several questions. It's unclear exactly what team officials suggested the player do, although a few selling points seem logical – namely Kodai Senga's successful move from Japan last season and the owners' track record of spending heavily to improve the club.
Notably, the actual interview process is set to intensify this week, so spending more time with him was crucial for the Mets' leadership team. The deadline to sign Yamamoto is January 4th at 5 p.m., but many around the league believe he will select a team before the end of the month. A handful of other teams remain heavily in the mix for Yamamoto, including the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees, as well as other strong-market teams.
Yamamoto spent much of last week in Los Angeles meeting with teams and their respective personnel. He hadn't met Mendoza and Hefner yet, so it was important for him to get the opportunity to ask the manager and pitching coach questions and learn more about the Mets.
But time will tell. A lot will depend on the bidding process. Earlier in the offseason, Tim Britton of The Athletic predicted that a team would have to offer a seven-year, $203 million deal to sign Yamamoto. However, the competition for the right-hander was fierce.
The Mets are willing to pay a significant amount for him as they want to compete in 2024 while also placing value on the future. Yamamoto, one of the best pitchers in Japanese baseball history, has the distinction of helping the Mets in a significant way every now and then.
(Photo of Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitching in 2021: Koji Watanabe / Getty Images)