MLB Rumors: 5 Yoshinobu Yamamoto free agency fits after Japanese star’s no-hitter

Much of the talk for this MLB offseason will revolve around Shohei Ohtani and for good reason. The Angels superstar is the best player in baseball, and arguably the best player we've ever seen. We have never, and will never see anything like him again.

Ohtani will get a majority of the headlines, but his fellow countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto won't be too far behind. The electric right-hander showcased his elite talent at the World Baseball Classic for Team Japan in the Spring and has posted a 1.26 ERA in 20 starts and 143 innings pitched for the Orix Buffaloes this season.

Yamamoto is expected to be posted by his team this offseason as he prepares to make his move to MLB, and his stock has only risen after he completed the second no-hitter of his career on Friday night. Several teams will be in on the 25-year-old, but these five teams are the best fits for him.

1) Yoshinobu Yamamoto free agency fit: New York Mets

All Yoshinobu Yamamoto costs this winter is money, and nobody has more of that than New York Mets owner Steve Cohen. That's just one of many reasons why the Mets are an obvious fit for this right-hander.

First, Mets GM Billy Eppler has had a ton of success recruiting Japanese talent. He was the one who convinced Shohei Ohtani to come to Anaheim when he was their GM. He was the one who got the prized Japanese pitcher of last offseason, Kodai Senga, to come to the Mets. Both of these players have broken out with their respective teams and are stars.

The Mets won't be going as all-out as they did this season to try and win the World Series, but Yamamoto isn't a win-now move. Sure, he'd certainly help, but he's only 25. This isn't the same as the Mets giving record-breaking AAVs to Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander at the end of their careers to help win now.

The Mets' goal of winning the World Series has shifted to 2025 and beyond, and Yamamoto will be right in the prime of his career at that time. He'd have the opportunity to adjust to the majors for a season alongside Senga, play in the biggest market in the world, and with Steve Cohen operating, could easily wind up with more money than he'd get anywhere else. It makes too much sense.