The Phillies lost catching Japanese shortstop Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Philadelphia Phillies The Phillies are reportedly still looking for another starting pitcher, despite recently re-signing Aaron Nola to a seven-year, $172 million contract. Like most MLB teams, one name on their radar is Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was sent to his NPB club. But the Phillies were already out of the game.
According to Yamamoto and his client in a Japanese document recently translated into English, there is no geographic preference. There is no geographical preference and there is no need to play anywhere. This is great news for the East Coast Phillies. When Shohei Otani moved to America, he wanted to play in the West. This limited him to a handful of MLB teams and severely limited his ability to compete for championships.
Yamamoto and his officers avoid these mistakes. But the worst thing about the Phillies is that Yamamoto wants to play with other Japanese players. “I want to play with Japanese players…” It’s different from previous Japanese players. This is a blow to Philly. There are currently 0 Japanese players on the active roster. If the Phillies want to acquire Yamamoto and his services, they may have to spend money on other Japanese players before landing Yamamoto.
But if you follow Yamamoto and want to play in the World Series and play in front of a big fan base, Philly isn’t going to win. Hopefully Ohtani doesn’t make the same mistake he did when he first came to the park.
