The San Francisco Giants have been a heavy candidate for Yamamoto since it was announced that he would be coming to America. The Giants had pushed hard but per reports by NBC Sports Alex Pavlovic, the Giants have been told they’re out of the pursuit.
The word going around is that Yoshinobu Yamamoto will land in LA or NY. Though, no clear evidence as to which teams are still in the mix. One could expect that it is between the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Yankees and New York Mets. However, there are still other teams in the running such as the Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies. The latter recently made their offer this week but all three of those teams appear to be a long-shot at the Japanese Ace.
With the Giants eliminated from the Yamamoto sweepstakes, they can now turn their attention to other MLB free agents. Their three biggest needs entering the offseason were starting pitching, shortstop and corner outfield. Two of those positions may be fillable through free agency. Now that the Giants don’t have a chance at Yamamoto, they could go after Blake Snell as an addition to the rotation. As well as Cody Bellinger or Jorge Soler, both of whom could play in the corners. There’s not really any star talent available at SS, so the Giants will have to trade for that.
Some reports have stated that Yamamoto will make his decision soon, however MLB Columnist Bob Klapisch reported on Dec. 19 that in fact a decision will not be made before Christmas. He states that it could stretch into the Jan. 1-4 window.
As of now, no other team has been informed that they are eliminated from the Yamamoto sweepstakes.
***
Click here for more MLB content.
Follow Fantom Sports on Instagram.
Subscribe to Fantom Sports YouTube.