Red Sox Rumors: What are the odds of getting Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Boston?
Speaking of the Red Sox's interest in top-of-the-rotation talent, there's no one better than Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Even though chatter has been swirling more around Yamamoto to the Yankees or Mets, the Red Sox have consistently been linked to Yamamoto since before his recent posting from NPB. Boston might have a leg up as one of only a few teams with a Japanese player, as Yamamoto has professed a preference for playing on a team with other Japanese players. Masataka Yoshida might be even more uniquely appealing to him: they were teammates on the Orix Buffaloes for six seasons and fellow World Baseball Classic champions this year.
As we've mentioned, it seems like the Red Sox have either not been in or have missed out on some of the biggest starting pitchers who might be available this offseason, whether they're free agents or trade candidates. If they continue to pursue Jordan Montgomery and Yamamoto and could work out a way to afford both, they'd have a brand new, fearsome 1-2 punch at the top of their rotation, while also pulling off a couple of the most productive signings that the team has seen in years.