MLB Rumors: Ohtani staying in LA? Soto asking price, Bellinger mystery, Yamamoto truth
- Yamamoto's supposed preference to play with a Japanese team is creating some mixed messaging
- The Padres have a reported asking price for Juan Soto
- Cody Bellinger could be the source of enraging internal debates for teams in need of outfield help
- Some think that Shohei Ohtani's fate is already set
By Josh Wilson
Yoshinobu Yamamoto's teammate preference: Real or not?
The MLB rumors conversation has been bubbling about Yoshinobu Yamamoto's free agency now that he's been officially posted by the Orix Buffaloes. Yamamoto has 45 days from the day he was posted (Monday) to reach a free agency agreement with an MLB team.
For Japanese players, one consideration when coming over to MLB is their preference for or against (or indifferent) toward playing with other Japanese teammates. Some reporters have indicated that some Japanese players prefer to play on teams without Japanese teammates because of the extremely hierarchical culture in Japan.
It had already been reported that Yamamoto doesn't mind being teammates with other Japanese players on whatever MLB team he signs with, but this week it was floated that a Japanese Yahoo! article indicated he prefers to be on a team with another Japanese player. Others are calling that assessment out, suggesting that the article says he simply doesn't mind playing with another Japanese player.
One clarification is appropriate re: Yamamoto: His agent, Joel Wolfe, only said that he is *open* to playing with a team that has another Japanese player, *not* that doing so was necessarily a preference.
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) November 23, 2023
Notably, the article was in Japanese, so there could be nuance of the information lost in translation.
All of that said, at this point, it likely doesn't do Yamamoto well to close himself off to any opportunities in hopes of getting himself as lucrative of a contract as possible.
If he does want a large market and a Japanese teammate, though, we looked at a few possible fits here.