Bryce Harper of the Phillies uses a free agency sales pitch to entice Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Madison Williams, December 18, 2023
This story is about the Philadelphia Phillies, an MLB team that has been making every effort to court free agent pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto this summer.
According to reports, Yamamoto has met with the Phillies most recently. Thus, it seems natural that, when the Japanese ace was in the midst of negotiations with the team, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi said on Monday, Philadelphia would ask star Bryce Harper to FaceTime with him.
It’s unclear what Harper said to Yamamoto during his pitch, but hearing from the two-time NL MVP was likely helpful for the youngster.
The announcement follows shortly after it was made public that Shohei Ohtani, the new Dodgers signee, attended Yamamoto’s meeting with Los Angeles. Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, two prominent Dodgers, were reportedly present as well. Yamamoto has therefore spoken with some of MLB’s greatest names in only the last week.
There are other teams that are interested in Yamamoto besides the Phillies and Dodgers. The outstanding right-hander has been linked to the Red Sox, Giants, Yankees, and Mets. Joel Sherman of the New York Post revealed that Yamamoto had dinner with Steve Cohen, the owner of the Mets, over the weekend.
During 164 innings this year, the 25-year-old Yamamoto recorded a 1.21 ERA, making it one of his greatest seasons in the Nippon Professional Baseball league in Japan.
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