The New York Yankees are turning things around this offseason. They are doing their best to regain hope for the next season. Anyway, the Yankees had an impressive bullpen. Moreover, the NY side had their eyes set on an international superstar free agent this offseason. That’s the Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The Bronx Bombers are among the top contenders to land him. Albeit, there’s a lot of competition to sign the Japanese superstar. But the Yankees can use Yamamoto as their starting pitcher alongside Gerrit Cole. Lately, the Bronx members met with the Japanese superstar in Los Angeles. Since then, they have a good feeling about where the deal is heading.
Yankees Feel “Optimistic” About Signing Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Recently, YES’s Jack Curry mentioned the Yankees are positive about landing the superstar international free agent. Lately, the Yankees GM told the New York Daily News’ Peter Sblendorio that they are happy with the pitchers they have in their bullpen. But they sure want to see if they can reinforce it. It is essential to add to the bullpen after the long list of injuries really taught them a good lesson this year. Brian Cashman added that it is essential to look at the rotation combo from an insurance standpoint. They will keep having the conversation on how to plug and play with the rotation.
A source with knowledge of the Yankees’ interaction with Yamamoto said they remain optimistic about their pursuit of the free agent pitcher. It’s a crumb of info. So I’m sharing a crumb. Stay tuned. We’ll talk Yamamoto, Ohtani and more on the Yankees Hot Stove at 6:30 PM on YES.
— JackCurryYES (@JackCurryYES) December 11, 2023
.@martinonyc reports on the Yankees' contingent at their meeting with Yoshinobu Yamamoto:
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) December 11, 2023
"As of Sunday, the Yankees planned to send a large group of senior leadership to the meeting: managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner, general manager Brian Cashman, manager Aaron Boone… pic.twitter.com/JId9j6XazS
Anyway, the Yankees must be desperate to sign the 25-year-old Japanese. If they can get him, then the NY side will confirm having the best winter this offseason. After the Los Angeles Dodgers landed the unicorn Shohei Ohtani, it removed the biggest free agent off the chart. Now, every team will jump on the opportunity to land Yamamoto. He finished the last season in Japan with 16-6 and 169 strikeouts in 164 innings. Moreover, Yamamoto had a 1.21 ERA and 0.88 ERA. He was the Japanese league’s best player for the third straight year.
The NY Side Turned The Offseason Around After Landing Juan Soto
Several fans lost hope after the NY side failed to make the postseason this year. Moreover, the Bronx Bombers finished with an 82-80 record. It was a tremendous shame for the franchise as they hoped to win the whole thing this year. Moreover, the 2023 season was the worst year for the NY side in the last 30 years. It was the first time since 2016 that the 27-time champions could not qualify for the postseason. Hence, there were a lot of things that the Yankees needed to take care of before moving to the next season. Moreover, the owner, General Manager, and captain mentioned the Bronx would make significant changes this offseason.
What they needed the most was reinforcing their offense. Hence, Brian Cashman said earlier in the GM Meetings in Arizona last month that they were looking for a couple of lefty sluggers and a quality pitcher. And the Yankees had their eyes set on Juan Soto for a long time. Finally, the NY side managed to land Soto along with another outfielder, Trent Grisham. On the other hand, they had to trade a lot of quality pitchers and catchers, including Michael King and Drew Thorpe, to the San Diego Padres.
