Report: Yoshinobu Yamamoto met with notable NL team

Yoshinobu Yamamoto is widely viewed as the top free agent on the market now that Shohei Ohtani has committed to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Japanese pitcher met with at least one National League team over the weekend.

Yamamoto met with the San Francisco Giants on Sunday, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports.

The Giants and every other big-market team have interest in Yamamoto on some level. The 25-year-old is expected to sign the richest deal ever for a Japanese pitcher, which is currently the seven-year, $155M contract that Masahiro Tanaka signed with the New York Yankees in 2014.

There is reason to believe that San Francisco is willing to become the highest bidder. The Giants have fallen short in their pursuits of free agents like Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge. A report last month claimed they were determined to sign either Ohtani or Yamamoto, and Ohtani is no longer available.

The Giants have had just one winning season since 2017. They have been desperate to add star power since then, so it would stand to reason that they are going all-out for Yamamoto.

Yamamoto has all the makings of an ace. The right-hander had a 1.82 ERA across seven seasons in Japan’s NPB. The Giants are facing plenty of competition with their attempt to sign him.