Yoshinobu Yamamoto to...the Dodgers? Really? Again?

[Tryptamine]

Just now, 1908_Cubs said:

Yamamoto is apparently golfing with Nootbaar today. 

I've seen this reported several times in the last week and a half so unless they're playing together every couple days, I feel like this is questionable.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

4 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

I know Nootbaar is half Japanese, but does he speak the language well, because I assume that's kind of the whole point of wanting to play with another Japanese player. From everything I'm read, he's extremely basic in his Japanese, so it would be like talking to a baby.

The relationship is apparently greater than Nootbaar just being allowed to play because he has the right relatives.

 

[Thusly Boned]

45 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

Yamamoto is apparently golfing with Nootbaar today. 

Unless Nootbaar has $100MM or so to kick in, I doubt it matters.

I just don't see STL getting in the neighborhood of what it is gonna cost.

[Stratos]

1 hour ago, Tryptamine said:

So predominantly would mean of the teams previously linked to Yamamoto, CHC(Suzuki), Mets(Senga), Blue Jays(Kikuchi) and BOS(Yoshida) would be the only ones with Japanese players on their teams, leaving LAD, STL, ARI, DET, SFG and NYY on the outside looking in.

Unless they sign another Japanese FA

[Jason Ross]

55 minutes ago, XZero77 said:

Unless Nootbaar has $100MM or so to kick in, I doubt it matters.

I just don't see STL getting in the neighborhood of what it is gonna cost.

Oh, fully agreed. And the way the team is acting (Lynn and Gibson) they aren't shooting very high right now. 

[We Got The Whole 9]

30 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

Oh, fully agreed. And the way the team is acting (Lynn and Gibson) they aren't shooting very high right now. 

It can easily be argued that they are setting up a big move with those depth moves. FWIW Mikolas could be helpful in helping him make the transition as well, no?

 

/Devils Advocate 

[Thusly Boned]

11 minutes ago, TomtheBombadil said:

Tbf the whole thing with Yamamoto is that he’s expected to sign for way less than he’s actually worth as a 25 YO 1-2 starter in FA. Any team in baseball would be happy to land him at what’s been most speculated 

 

No way he's going for anything less than $200MM plus the posting fee, and most teams aren't going there.

In a vacuum, maybe, but you have many teams in dire need of starting pitching, including just about all the major market teams. Barring something truly unforeseen, there's going to be a full scale bidding war, and the Cards (and most mid-market teams) are getting priced out. Probably early.

And if reports are to believed, the Cardinals never even intended to shop at the top of the market.

[Jason Ross]

27 minutes ago, We Got The Whole 9 said:

It can easily be argued that they are setting up a big move with those depth moves. FWIW Mikolas could be helpful in helping him make the transition as well, no?

 

/Devils Advocate 

Which, I guess is fair. I really question the Lynn move. Gibson I get. But Lynn looks absolutely done, and I just can't see any team looking at him and thinking there's anything left. That felt very much akin to the Cubs bringing back Arrieta in 2021. With the amount of depth options, Lynn feels like a weird signing. 

[Bertz]

 

Quote

Martino also adds a clarification to a statement made by Wolfe earlier in the week, as the agent told Japanese media during a conference call that his client would have no problem playing with another Japanese player. Due to a translation error, this was incorrectly interpreted as Wolfe saying that Yamamoto was prioritizing teams that already had at least one Japanese player on the roster, which isn’t the case

Quote

Though Yamamoto’s posting window extends until January 4, it “is not expected to require that much time” for the right-hander to decide on a contract, Martino writes. Obviously there’s a lot of fluidity in this timeline depending on how many teams makes Yamamoto’s in-person shortlist and what types of offers end up on the table, but it would tentatively seem like he might have his decision made sometime between mid-December and Christmas Day.

 

[Jason Ross]

 

Edited December 3, 2023 by 1908_Cubs

[Bertz]

Slusser is the authority on Giants stuff

 

[JD94]

9 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

 

Interesting. I wonder if he’s a backup plan to Ohtani or if they will go hard after him either way? 

[Tryptamine]

As much as it would suck for the Cubs to miss all off Ohtani, Yamamoto and Soto, the melt down in New York, especially amongst the Met fans would be epic perhaps beyond anything we've seen from a fan base. 

[Backtobanks]

2 hours ago, Tryptamine said:

As much as it would suck for the Cubs to miss all off Ohtani, Yamamoto and Soto, the melt down in New York, especially amongst the Met fans would be epic perhaps beyond anything we've seen from a fan base. 

Don't underestimate Cub fans.

[Tryptamine]

11 minutes ago, Backtobanks said:

Don't underestimate Cub fans.

Cub fans aren't currently calling Ohtani a p***y who is afraid of playing in prime time like Met fans are.

Censor doesn't block that word apparently. 

Edited December 4, 2023 by Tryptamine

[WhyCantWeWin]

With Yamamoto meeting teams this week, I'm guessing he signs next week if Ohtani makes his decision. 

[Jason Ross]

 

[CubinNY]

2 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

 

lol, Tom will still find a way to say the market held him down because he’s from Japan

[Stratos]

10 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

 

That's a lot for a guy whose never pitched in the MLB.  I'd be curious about what teams and the Cubs FO project for him.

[Banedon]

 

 

[Irrelevant Dude]

Obviously Shohei is the big, exciting prize, but I would be more than happy with Yamamoto plus a significant bat.  Yamamoto + Soto would be amazing, but also probably unrealistic.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Mooney/Sharma

Quote

Yoshinobu Yamamoto has generated so much interest from both New York teams and other big-market franchises that the Cubs are not expected to proceed in those high-stakes negotiations. The early projections were optimistic because Yamamoto is only 25 years old and pitching is always in great demand. But Yamamoto is now expected to land a contract worth close to $300 million, according to Jim Bowden, the former general manager of the Cincinnati Redsand Washington Nationals and a national writer for The Athletic.

 

[Irrelevant Dude]

If the Cubs aren't willing to play in those waters with the big boys, I don't know what to say.  I do know they raised ticket prices for the upcoming season.  I guess someone has to pay for the mid-tier free agents they are going to sign.

[ToolDRT]

Really discouraging Yamamoto isn’t plan b to Ohtani. We could have gone for Senga last year and Yamamoto this year and had Horton waiting in the wings. But it’s alright. We have Jameson Tallion. 

[Banedon]