3 pitchers Braves need to sign after solving left field crisis

2. Yoshinobu Yamamoto has the highest upside of any pitcher available

Shohei Ohtani is the top dog when it comes to free agency, but fellow Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto isn't too far behind. There's a very good chance he makes the most money for any player not named Ohtani. Yes, more than Cody Bellinger, more than Blake Snell. He's that highly touted.

Yamamoto was dominant throughout his seven-year career in the NPB, posting a 1.72 ERA in 188 appearances. He was at his best this past season, as shown by his 1.16 ERA in 24 appearances and 171 innings of work. He took home his third straight Sawamura Award (Japanese Cy Young) and even impressed before his season started by pitching wonderfully at the WBC.

What makes Yamamoto such an intriguing target is his age. At just 25 years old, Yamamoto is five or six years younger than most of the free agents available. While Anthopoulos might balk at the idea of giving a 30-year-old a long-term deal, he's given plenty of younger players long-term contracts before.

Yamamoto has some level of risk to him considering the fact that he hasn't pitched in MLB before, but everything you see him do suggests he'll be a frontline starter for a very long time. Yes, he won't come cheap, but Yamamoto fits in beautifully with this young and star-studded Braves core. He'd help them be even more formidable than they are right now. Stealing him away from the Mets would make it even sweeter.