Phillies Ramp Up Yoshinobu Yamamoto Pursuit With Contract Offer

The Yoshinobu Yamamoto free-agency sweepstakes have reached another level. MLB teams are expected to start submitting official bids, per a December 18 report from ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The Philadelphia Phillies are showing how serious they are in the Japanese ace, as The Athletic’s Matt Gelb reports the organization has sent over a contract offer.

It’s unknown what the terms of this offer are. However, Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer did say on December 18 that the Phillies would be aggressive in their pursuit of the starting pitcher. The New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported on December 5 that bidding for Yamamoto could reach the $300 million range.

Philadelphia is hardly the only team in the mix at this point. Both Gelb and Coffey said Philly isn’t expected to have the highest bid. Other squads involved include the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays.

As of December 19, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times said the Dodgers were preparing an offer of at least $250 million. Meanwhile, the Mets are also preparing their own “very serious offer” to send over.

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A Look at the Phillies’ Current Rotation Mix

The Phillies’ meeting with Yamamoto was first reported by Heyman on December 14. Philly throwing its proverbial hat into the ring is notable because previous roster moves had seemingly taken them out of the pursuit.

Long-time Phillies hurler Aaron Nola hit the open market after the 2023 season. Coffey reported on November 16 that Philadelphia would consider other options if they couldn’t re-sign Nola. Both sides then agreed to a seven-year, $172 million contract three days later, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.

Here’s what the Phillies’ starting five currently looks like, according to FanGraphs’ Roster Resource:

• Zack Wheeler
• Aaron Nola
• Ranger Suarez
• Taijuan Walker
• Cristopher Sanchez

Unless they plan on using a six-man rotation, some room would need to be made for Yamamoto if he headed to the City of Brotherly Love. However, the organization’s interest makes sense given their situation.

Three of these five hurlers (Wheeler, Nola and Walker) are at least 30 years old. Part of the intrigue with Yamamoto is that he’s dominated in Japan and is still just 25 years old.

His presence on a long-term deal would also stabilize the top of the rotation. Sanchez, Nola and Walker are all under contract for at least the next three years, per Spotrac. However, 2024 is the final season of a five-year deal Wheeler signed with Philadelphia in 2019. Suarez has two seasons of team control left before hitting free agency.

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Phillies Looking to Get Over the Hump in 2024

The last two seasons at Citizens Bank Park have been exciting for Phillies fans. While neither campaign ended in a championship parade, Philly put together a pair of deep and exciting runs into October.

They reached the National League Championship Series (NLCS) in both 2022 and 2023. The last time this organization went that deep into the postseason in consecutive years was from 2008-10. It included a World Series title in 2008, a National League pennant in 2009 and a trip to the NLCS in 2010.

In his report about the Phillies’ Yamamoto contract offer, Gelb mentioned how president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski had downplayed making another aggressive move this winter. Per Gelb, the long-time executive has said the Phillies’ rotation is set, and with the 2024 payroll expected to be its highest ever, adding another star-caliber player didn’t seem likely.

Despite all that, they can’t help getting involved. Philly might not be one of the perceived favorites in these sweepstakes, but that’s not stopping them from trying.

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