Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto has officially said that he is willing to talk to MLB teams that might be interested in hiring him for the new season.
The most recent news says that the samurai player would list a number of requirements that his future MLB bosses would have to meet. One of the most interesting requests is that Yamamoto would only sign with a team that already has a Japanese baseball player. One more is that they have to be a strong team that can win awards.
Not all of the teams that have stayed in the lead would meet this requirement. For example, neither the New York Yankees nor the Los Angeles Dodgers have a Japanese player on their roster.
Major League Baseball teams with Japanese players
One of the teams that is interested is the Toronto Blue Jays, who have pitcher Yusei Kikuchi and outfielder Masataka Yoshida, who is also an interesting former Orix player.The Chicago Cubs have shortstop Seiya Suzuki and the New York Mets have pitcher Kodai Senga.
Ohtani connected
If this situation is true, things could change even more because Shohei Ohtani is another Japanese baseball player who is part of the “big fish” in MLB free agency. He and his fellow countryman could be very dangerous for any team.
Recent news sources say that Ohtani would rather play for the Texas Rangers than the San Francisco Giants or the Los Angeles Dodgers. The New York Mets, the Boston Red Sox, and even the Angels themselves are other choices.
