BREAKING NEWS: Detroit Tigers are reportedly in advance talks to land Japanese Ace the biggest prize this offseason for major league teams in free agency.

Shohei Ohtani, the now-former Los Angeles Angels superstar, is the biggest free agent target for major league teams this offseason.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, another Japanese sensation, is also attracting a lot of attention. He’s only 25 years old.

According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, several teams are interested, including the Detroit Tigers.

How well-known is Yamamoto? Every major league team is interested, as are the Diamondbacks and Tigers.

Recently, ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney told ‘The Brady Farkas Show’ that Yamamoto is expected to command at least $200 million on the open market.

More on Yamamoto can be found in an MLBTradeRumors article from February 2023:

Scouts Sherman spoke with gushed about Yamamoto’s big-league potential, citing a heater that sits in the mid- to upper-90s, a “plus-plus” (i.e. 70-grade) splitter, a “world class” curveball, a quick delivery to the plate, and the athleticism to field his position well. One scout who spoke with Sherman gave him a “full [scouting] grade” (on a scale of 20-80) ahead of right-hander Kodai Senga, who signed a five-year, $75MM contract with the Mets this offseason.

He went 17-6 in the Nippon Professional Baseball League this year, with a 1.16 ERA. In 171.0 innings, he struck out 176 batters. He was pitching for the Orix Buffaloes, the same team that Ichiro Suzuki was with.

The Tigers finished second in the American League Central in 2023 and hope to continue their rise in 2024. On the position player side, they have Riley Torkelson and Riley Greene, but they definitely need to add to their rotation, especially after losing Eduardo Rodriguez in free agency.