The Philadelphia Phillies have reportedly made an offer to Yamamoto.

The Philadelphia Phillies have reportedly made an offer to Yamamoto.

The Phillies are one of the teams targeting free agent prospect Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies have made an offer to Japanese shortstop Yoshinobu Yamamoto, according to multiple reports. The Phillies are one of several teams pursuing the 25-year-old right-hander, who has become one of the best free-agent hitters on the market.

   The Phillies met with Yamamoto last week and brought first baseman Bryce Harper to the park, and he attended the meeting via FaceTime. It’s unclear what the Phillies will say, though the Philadelphia Inquirer reported a story saying the Phillies will be “aggressive.” The Phillies signed Aaron Nola to a seven-year, $172 million contract.

   On Wednesday morning, Jim Bowden, a former general manager of three major league teams who now works for The Athletic, said the competition was bad for Yamamoto and put the Phillies “on the back” and the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue . called a “back-to-back” team. lie down Bowden singled out the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers as favorites. He also predicted that the New York Mets or the San Francisco Giants would be the highest bidder. Bowden and others estimate Yamamoto could be on a $250 million to $300 million contract over eight to 12 years.

   Their Nippon professional baseball club, the Orix Buffaloes, are free. This amount is estimated to be around 50 million dollars. Yamamoto must sign a contract by January 4. Bowden hopes to do that this week. Whoever signs Yamamoto gets a rare player who has won Pacific League MVP awards and a player who has won three Sawamura Awards, Japan’s Cy Young.

   He became the third player to win the MVP award in three consecutive seasons in the NPB, joining Ichiro Suzuki and Hisashi Yamada. In 2023, Yamamoto went 16-6 with a 1.21 ERA and 169 strikeouts in 164 innings. He pitched his second career no-hitter and set a series record with 14 strikeouts in Game 6 of the Japan Series. Yamamoto has a record of 70-29. A fast bowler in the mid-90s, but known for his breaking balls that make batsmen nervous.

   He also won gold medals for Japan at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2023 World Baseball Classic.