Phillies expect to be ‘aggressive’ as bidding for Yoshinobu Yamamoto gets underway

The Phillies’ presentation for the pitcher reportedly included a FaceTime call with Bryce Harper.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto has a 1.82 ERA over seven seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball.Read moreEugene Hoshiko / AP

Published Dec. 18, 2023, 6:16 p.m. ET

Free-agent pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto could start receiving contract offers from teams as soon as today, according to a report by ESPN. A source familiar with the Phillies’ thinking says they are planning to be “aggressive” in their pursuit of the 25-year-old starter.

Yamamoto met with a Phillies contingent last week. His presentation included a FaceTime call from Bryce Harper, according to the MLB Network. While president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has said that his rotation is set and the Phillies are only looking to improve around the margins, Yamamoto presents a unique case. He’s a front-line starter in the prime of his career, even if he has yet to throw a pitch in Major League Baseball. Three of the Phillies’ five starters — Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, and Taijuan Walker — are age 30 or above.

The addition of Yamamoto would provide long-term stability at the top of the rotation for a team built to win now. The Phillies don’t want to rush pitching prospects Mick Abel and Andrew Painter, who is rehabbing after undergoing Tommy John surgery in July. He is expected to return to play in 2025.

Yamamoto is one of the most accomplished starters in Nippon Professional Baseball history, and has a track record of winning. He won a championship with the Orix Buffaloes in 2022 and helped Japan win the World Baseball Classic in 2023. He has a 1.82 ERA over seven seasons in the NPB with 922 strikeouts and only 206 walks.

Despite the fact that the Phillies’ 40-man competitive balance tax payroll stands at $252,783,771, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the source said the Phillies are open to either a short-term/high average annual value contract or a long-term/low AAV contract. The Phillies are projected to go past the $237 million competitive tax threshold and pay a 50% tax on the overages. They’d pay 62% over any amount over $257 million and 95% over any amount over $277 million. Barring a trade to move a big-contract player, they’d likely have to pass all of those thresholds to sign Yamamoto.

Despite all of that, the interest is still there — which would suggest a comfort level with paying well above the tax. This doesn’t mean the Phillies will be the highest bidders. The Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, and Giants are all reportedly in on Yamamoto. But the Phillies will try.

It will all boil down to what Yamamoto prioritizes. The Phillies have only had two Japanese players in franchise history: So Taguchi and Tadahito Iguchi. Unlike some of the other teams vying for Yamamoto’s services, they don’t have as large of a scouting presence in Asia, which they have worked to improve in recent years. But those who have scouted Yamamoto closely say he is a fierce competitor. One of the Phillies’ biggest selling points may be that they’ve made deep playoff runs two years in a row — and are still in win-now mode.

The 45-day window for Yamamoto to sign with a team ends at 5 p.m. on Jan. 4.