Yankees GM In Attendance For Japanese Phenom’s No-Hitter
The 25-year-old pitcher is on pace for his third straight Triple Crown
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is primed to become a big name in the Major League Baseball offseason, and the 25-year-old pitcher continued to show why Saturday.
Yamamoto is set to be posted after the Nippon Professional Baseball season ends, and multiple MLB teams will be interested in the right-hander, including the Boston Red Sox, according to multiple reports.
The Japanese phenom continued his stellar production Saturday when he threw his second no-hitter this season in the Orix Buffaloes’ 4-0 win over the Chiba Lotte Marines at Chiba Marine Stadium. Yamamoto had eight strikeouts and one walk in 102 pitches, and he is on pace for his third straight Triple Crown with 14 wins, a 1.26 ERA and 145 strikeouts after Saturday — procuring a 6.1 WAR.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was in attendance to see the no-hitter live along with special assistant Omar Minaya, per Newsday Sports’ Erik Boland. Yankees pro scouting director Matt Daley also was in Japan looking at Yamamoto.
It looks like it will be a tight race for Yamamoto in the offseason. The Red Sox do have his former Buffaloes teammate Masataka Yoshida who could help in recruiting if it’s needed. The pair also were on Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic. Yamamoto pitched two games where he tossed 12 strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings with a 2.45 ERA.
Boston very well might land two top Japanese stars this offseason if Shohei Ohtani is interested in a move to Fenway Park.
