Potential Red Sox Target Pitches Lights Out In Final Japan Start

Boston Red Sox president of baseball operations Craig Breslow highlighted pitching during his introductory news conference Thursday, and a Japanese pitcher showed Saturday why he will be one of the most sought-after free agents this offseason.

Major League Baseball fans got a glimpse of Yoshinobu Yamamoto at this year’s World Baseball Classic, and the 25-year-old has been dominant in Nippon Professional Baseball this season.

The right-hander pitched his final game for the Orix Buffaloes, which was Masataka Yoshida’s old team before he signed with the Red Sox. The Buffaloes were down 3-2 in the Japan Series to the Hanshin Tigers. Yamamoto delivered pitching a complete game on 138 pitches. The Team Japan ace gave up one run off nine hits and struck out 14, which broke Yu Darvish’s Japan Series record, per Yakyu Cosmopolitan.

The Buffaloes hope to win their second straight Japan Series title in Game 7 on Sunday.

Saturday was Yamamoto’s final outing before he became an MLB free agent. The clutch playoff performance came in a season where the right-hander won his third straight Eiji Sawamura Award — the NPB equivalent to the Cy Young — and his third straight Triple Crown.

Boston scouts reportedly saw Yamamoto in person, and international scouting has been vital to the organization. The New York Yankees and other MLB clubs also have done in-person scouting on Yamamoto, who has been viewed as one of the top free agents not named Shohei Ohtani by analysts.

Breslow hinted that improving the team’s pitching staff would be one of his focuses as president of baseball operations and signing Yamamoto certainly would be a strong first step.