Red Sox reportedly offered Yoshinobu Yamamoto more than $300M
BOSTON – The Red Sox have been quiet so far this offseason. But according to two Saturday reports, the team is trying to change that amid the bidding war for star Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Yamamoto has been taking meetings with big market teams in recent weeks. The Red Sox were previously reported to be among those teams.
On Saturday, baseball analyst Marino Pepén posted on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, saying the Red Sox have offered "just over" $300 million, "with causes and incentives convenient for both parties."
MLB analyst and former general manager Jim Bowden later added his own report about the offer. Bowden said the Red Sox and San Francisco Giants both made "a strong recent push" for Yamamoto.
Bowden said that both teams offered over $300 million.
"Certainly others too making strong runs," Bowden said.
The Mets are among those other teams, and Yamamoto reportedly had dinner at the house of Mets owner Steve Cohen "with a Mets contingent" on Saturday night, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
Yamamoto went 16-6 with a 1.21 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP for the Orix Buffaloes of the Nippon Professional Baseball league last season in Japan. He struck out 169 batters over 164 innings last season to earn the pitcher's Triple Crown.
