Yoshinobu Yamamoto is a Japanese ace. If the New York Yankees are unable to sign him as a free agent, they are reportedly considering his World Baseball Classic colleague as a backup for the starting rotation in 2024.
The Yankees executed a blockbuster trade for San Diego Padres All-Star Juan Soto a few weeks ago, making one of the greatest splashes of the winter. The young star’s signing fills a few important needs and strengthens their lineup for the next campaign. Starting pitching was still the team’s top goal this offseason, though.
The Yankees starting rotation following American League Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole is quite uncertain in the wake of experienced pitcher Luis Severino’s departure. Nestor Cortes underperformed after being an All-Star the previous season, and Carlos Rodon, a big-ticket free agency addition for 2022, missed the most of the current campaign due to injury.
For this reason, New York has made a strong drive to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a 25-year-old Japanese talent. The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets are among the other big-market teams vying for the services of the three-time Nippon Professional Baseball MVP. Because of this, there is little chance that the Yanks will be successful in their pursuit of Yamamoto.
According to reports, the New York Yankees may pursue Shota Imanaga.
In case they are unable to sign Yamamoto, the Pinstripes have a fallback option. As MLB insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post stated late last week, “the Yankees are considering Japanese lefty Shota Imanaga if they don’t land Yoshinobu Yamamoto.”
Although the 30-year-old’s market is not as strong as that of his WBC colleagues, Heyman noted that the Mets, Dodgers, Cubs, and Red Sox view him as a backup plan in case they are unable to acquire Yamamoto.
Imanaga has been a member of the Yokohama Bay Stars for his whole playing career and is an eight-year NPB veteran. With 1,183 strikeouts in 1,129.2 innings, a 2.96 ERA, 1.076 WHIP, and a 74-55 career record. His numbers are just a little bit lower than those of Mets ace Kodai Senga, who spent his whole NPB career before joining the MLB this season.
During his three appearances in the World Baseball Classic this year, he recorded one victory, a 3.00 ERA, a 1.17 WHIP, and seven strikeouts in six innings of work.
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