Team Japan pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Prize free agent meeting with Yanks for second time

By Tommy Fradenburg | Last updated 12/17/23

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is accustomed to getting what he wants.

He wanted stud outfielder Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres -- so he got him. Now he appears all-in on acquiring Japanese phenom Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the consensus top pitcher available on the free agent market.

Cashman -- along with a team headlined by Yankee legend Hideki Matsui -- met with Yamamoto once on December 11, the first of many pitches the 25-year-old heard last week. Now, the Yankees and Yamamoto are reportedly set to meet again, per SNY's Andy Martino.

Sources: Yamamoto expected to meet again with the Yankees while he’s in the area, could be as soon as today.
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) December 17, 2023

Between meetings with the Yankees brass, Yamamoto's talked with the Los Angeles Dodgers -- who already wooed his countryman Shohei Ohtani to a historic contract -- as well as the Boston Red Sox, and New York Mets.

Just as adding Juan Soto massively improved New York's top-heavy lineup, Yamamoto would improve New York's top heavy pitching rotation.

Outside of 2023 Cy Young-winner Gerrit Cole, the rotation struggled due to a combination of injuries and inconsistency from starters like Nestor Cortes Jr. and Carlos Rodon -- who the Yankees signed to a six-year, $162 million contract before the 2023 season.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto had dinner last night at Steve Cohen's house with a Mets contingent including Cohen, his wife Alex, GM David Stearns, manager Carlos Mendoza and pitching coach Jeremy Hefner

(via @Joelsherman1) pic.twitter.com/BBLqKfiuzF
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) December 17, 2023

Outside of Yamamoto's coveted talent, the Yankees could also really use a strong young arm to replace some of the prospects sent to San Diego for Soto. The package for Soto -- headlined by Michael King -- included three pitchers who started at least three games in 2023 and Drew Thorpe, a 23-year-old prospect that had a strong season in AA last year.

After the Yankees followed up a listless sweep at the hands of the Houston Astros in the 2022 American League Championship Series with a fourth-place finish in the AL East last season, the seats under Cashman and manager Aaron Boone we're scalding from a fans perspective.

If Cashman and Co. are able to complete add Yamamoto to the acquisition of Soto, the fans should be quelled for a time. But even with the injection of some youth between the two stars, many members of the team's core will be north of 30 years old.

With or without Yamamoto, the time to win is now in the Bronx.

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