MLB Rumors: Phillies have ulterior motive in Yoshinobu Yamamoto negotiations

The Philadelphia Phillies are reportedly among the teams interested in Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Dave Dombrowski and Phillies brass met with Yamamoto last week, though it's unclear what their current standing is. Yamamoto has met with many interested suitors, with the Yankees and Dodgers reportedly emerging as the early favorites.

Yamamoto has even met with the New York Mets and owner Steve Cohen twice, including once at Cohen's home. The New York and Los Angeles area markets seem to offer an edge that Yamamoto covets. FanSided's Chris Kline outlined some of the reason why Yamamoto may want to give Philly a little more credit than he has to this juncture.

"If Yamamoto wants to compete, only the Dodgers can truly claim better odds than Philadelphia and back it up with evidence — and even then, LA has been vastly outperformed by Philadelphia in recent postseasons. If his goal is to build a legacy, what better place than Philadelphia? The fan enthusiasm is real. It's not the easiest place to pitch, and he can't expect unconditional adoration," Kline wrote over the weekend.

MLB Rumors: Why are the Phillies really pursuing Yoshinobu Yamamoto?

Other than the opportunity to potentially sign Yamamoto, the Phillies don't have all that much to lose by pursuing the 26-year-old. Yamamoto could sign elsewhere, but the Phils have been a notable suitor, something that has been missing with Japanese free agents in recent years. Per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Dave Dombrowski and the Phils prefer to have a greater footprint in Asia, which is something they're desperately lacking.

“There’s no question we’ve taken a significant jump,” Dombrowski said. “The play (in Asia) continues to improve. The players continue to improve. You want to make sure you’re as thorough as possible.”

By signing Yamamoto, or even Shota Imanaga, the Phillies would increase their marketability in Asia, something other MLB teams such as the Yankees and Dodgers have already done.