MLB Rumors: 1 contender out of Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes, 2 favorites emerge

The Yoshinobu Yamamoto free agency saga has consumed the MLB rumor mill since Shohei Ohtani passed to Biggest Free Agent On The Market baton to his compatriot.

On Thursday, it looked like things were heating up as Yamamoto seemingly trimmed his list of suitors.

The San Francisco Giants were told "they're out of the bidding" according to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area.

"They pushed hard but expectation is that he will end up in LA or NY," Pavlovic tweeted.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto drops Giants, keeps Dodgers, Yankees, Mets in the loop

If Los Angeles, that would mean landing alongside Ohtani with the Dodgers. If New York, there remain two possibilities: The Yankees or the Mets.

While the Giants were informed they are out, the Mets were confirmed to be, at the very least, not officially out. That's according to Andy Martino of SNY.

However, Martino's reporting also suggested the Dodgers and the Yankees are in the strongest position to land the coveted Japanese pitcher.

Yamamoto has reportedly had multiple meetings with the Yankees and Mets. The influence of Ohtani for the Dodgers is also seen as weighty for the Dodgers.

Rumors swirled that Yamamoto would be in attendance with Ohtani at the Thursday Night Football Game between the Rams and Saints. However, multiple national reporters refuted that possibility and he was not sighted at SoFi Stadium.

So the wait for Yamamoto's decision continues but it seems likely fans in one of MLB's major markets will be happy when all is said and done.