November 14, 2023
The Phillies went into the offseason with starting pitching a priority, and among the top available options in this winter's free-agent class are Sonny Gray, Jordan Montgomery, Blake Snell, or a return for Aaron Nola on a new contract.
But the wild card in the group is ace right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who's set to make his way over to the majors from Japan after an impressive showing in the World Baseball Classic back in the spring and then an outright dominant season pitching for the Orix Buffaloes back east.
Now, the Phillies don't have much of a history of signing Japanese free agents, but according to former Phils beat Jim Salisbury, there is "legit interest" in the 25-year old and as good of a reason as any to start building that history now.
Said Salisbury of Yamamoto in an interview with 94WIP's Midday show:
"You know, you see him loosely connected to the Phillies, you more see him connected to the usual suspects like the two New Yorks (Yankees and Mets), like the Dodgers, but to me, the Phillies are a big market team with a very aggressive owner, a very aggressive front office, and an intent and huge will to win, and a will to spend money.
"I know they don't have much history with Japanese players, but why not start one? I mean the guy's 25 years old. You haven't really, other than I guess [Ranger Suárez], developed a young starting pitcher – we're still waiting for [Mick Abel] and [Griff McGarry] to throw strikes, [Andrew Painter] is gonna be down for a year. Guy is 25 years old. One of the big attractions to Bryce Harper a few years ago was he's a 26-year-old free agent. Well, this guy is younger.
"Him and Nola would be the two guys I'd be all over in free agency, and I do believe the Phillies will be all over both of those guys. I hear they have legit interest in Yamamoto and, to me, it makes a ton of sense. They might be a longshot, like I said, given their lack of history with Japanese players, but so what? Go out and be aggressive." [94WIP]
Here is @JSalisburyNBCS telling the @WIPMiddayShow that the Phillies have "legit" interest in 25-year-old RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto. https://t.co/G01YfmCI4r pic.twitter.com/hg8zisrwLw
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) November 14, 2023
Yamamoto made 23 starts and pitched 164 innings in Japan's Pacific League this past season, recording a 1.21 ERA, a 0.88 WHIP, and 169 strikeouts for a 16-6 record, which included a no-hitter in front of MLB execs in attendance.
He's expected to fetch a hefty contract in a bidding war that will include most of MLB's major markets. The question is: Will the Phillies step up and make a serious push for the incoming potential ace?
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