MLB Rumors: Cubs-Cards battle for top starter, Mets Ohtani backup plan, Hader to NL East?
By Mark Powell
MLB Rumors: Mets have a backup plan for Shohei Ohtani
New York will do its due diligence with Shohei Ohtani this offseason, as they should. However, all signs point towards Ohtani remaining on the west coast, and preferring to play for a winning team. The Mets can't offer either of those, as their location remains an issue and they failed to play up to high expectations this season.
What the Mets can offer is the most money. If Ohtani gives any inclination that he's open to signing in Queens, expect Steve Cohen to open his checkbook, even with the two-way star recovering from a UCL tear.
The far more likely option is that Ohtani stays out west, perhaps with the Dodgers, Giants, Mariners or even Angels, leaving the Mets to explore their backup plan, which could very well be Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Yamamoto, a 25-year-old pitcher from Japan, could be posted as soon as this offseason since that is when his contract runs up.
Billy Eppler has scouted Yamamoto, as well as other Asian players on the international market, for years, so he has a leg up and a relationship to build upon. With Ohtani's future as a pitcher in flux, Yamamoto's stock went way up. Eppler and Cohen will know where they stand with Ohtani early this winter. Unless Ohtani gives them a surefire sign that he is interested, the Mets can devote more financial resources to Yamamoto. The Rising Apple discussed this possibility on Friday:
"The Mets already seem to have a leg up on many teams when it comes to scouting Yamamoto, but the competition from other organizations around the league will be fierce. The Mets also have the funds to make a very competitive offer for his services which can play in their favor, but there are other big market teams such as the Los Angeles Dodgers who could offer both Ohtani and Yamamoto competitive deals due to Ohtani's injury."
Yamamoto put on a show in his last start, which was heavily-scouted by baseball operations people, tossing a shutout. He will be highly-sought after this offseason.