Aug 4, 2021; Yokohama, Japan; Team Japan pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (17) throws a pitch against Korea in a baseball semifinal match during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games at Yokohama Baseball Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports
Olympics: Baseball-Men Semifinal – JPN-KOR
NEW YORK — How did the Yankees meeting with Yoshinobu Yamamoto go?
Nobody knows.
What do we know? That Brian Cashman and Co. met with Yamamoto and his representatives in Southern California to kick off the week, as the Bombers continue their pursuit of the stud Japanese right-hander.
The Yankees have not confirmed the attendees or any other details of the meeting, but SNY’s Andy Martino is providing pivotal information.
“As of Sunday, the Yankees planned to send a large group of senior leadership to the meeting: managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner, general manager Brian Cashman, manager Aaron Boone and pitching coach Matt Blake, according to two league sources. If any attendees were added to or subtracted from that list, it would have been a last-minute change.”
Other teams linked to Yamamoto include the Mets, Dodgers, Giants, Red Sox, Cubs, and Cardinals.
“We’ll compete,” Cashman said of the bidding. “But I don’t know what the other teams — unless the agent [Joel Wolfe] shares the offers, we’re not going to know what other teams are throwing. So we just got to put our best foot forward and what we think we are willing to do. Hopefully we’re gonna hit the right spot for him.”
The team has aggressively scouted the star pitcher, including Cashman’s flying to Japan in September and seeing him throw a no-hitter. Yamamoto has expressed interest in the Yankees and noticed when they held out his preferred uniform number, 18, all last season.
“We were impressed,” Cashman said during last week’s winter meetings. “There’s reasons we send our pro scouts over and we have a scout on the ground over there, to make sure we don’t miss out on any opportunities that might present themselves. He’s a tremendous opportunity for anybody and I’ll just leave it at that. But a very impressive and talented player.”
Former Yankees star Hideki Matsui, who is now a team employee, is also said to have a meaningful relationship with Yamamoto’s agent, Joel Wolfe.
The little details add up. While it’s still a mystery where the Japanese star will land the Yankees appear willing to surpass the highest luxury-tax threshold of $297 million to land Yamamoto.
The superstar pitcher is expected to sign with a team before Christmas.
