Yoshinobu Yamamoto has dinner at Mets owner Steve Cohen’s house; expected to meet again with Yankees: report

The Mets and Yankees remain squarely in the Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes.

Yamamoto had dinner at Mets owner Steve Cohen’s house Saturday night, a source told SNY’s Andy Martino, marking the team’s second meeting with the Japanese starting pitcher. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza and pitching coach Jeremy Hefner reportedly attended as well.

The Yankees, meanwhile, are also expected to meet for the second time with Yamamoto while the 25-year-old is in the area, sources told Martino.

Yamamoto remains MLB’s most sought-after free agent after a standout seven-year career in the Nippon Professional Baseball, where he went 70-29 with a 1.82 ERA and 922 strikeouts over 897 innings.

The Red Sox and Giants made offers exceeding $300 million to Yamamoto, according to The Athletic’s Jim Bowden. Yamamoto has been linked as well to the Dodgers, who recently signed two-way Japanese sensation Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million contract with heavily deferred money.

Armed with a mid-90s fastball, elite curveball and sharp splitter, the right-handed Yamamoto would slot toward the top of a Mets rotation that doesn’t currently feature much behind Kodai Senga – a 2023 All-Star who signed from Japan last offseason – and veteran Jose Quintana.

With the Yankees, Yamamoto would help round out a high-upside rotation led by reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole and also featuring recent All-Stars in Carlos Rodon and Nestor Cortes.

“Our reports are that this guy’s really good,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Yamamoto. “The industry sees it the same way, and it feels like there’s gonna be a lot of suitors for him. But I feel quite confident that he’s going to come over here and be a really special top-of-the-rotation-type pitcher.”

Yamamoto would be the second marquee addition this offseason by the Yankees, who traded for superstar outfielder Juan Soto. The Yankees are coming off a season in which they finished 82-80, their worst record in three decades.

The Mets, meanwhile, went 75-87 in 2023 despite a historic payroll around $360 million. They traded co-aces Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer during the season, contributing to the voids in their rotation.

“I try not to look at as selling, I try to look at as providing information about who we are as an organization, and what we want to do and what we want to become,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said after his organization’s initial meeting with Yamamoto. “This is a big decision for any free agent — where to sign. They deserve to have all the information they need to make the most informed decision and the right decision for them and their family.”

Stearns and Cohen flew to Japan before this month’s MLB Winter Meetings to speak with Yamamoto. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman visited Japan in September and watched Yamamoto hurl a no-hitter.

“It was just a really enjoyable experience,” Cashman recalled at the Winter Meetings. “The fact that it was a no-hitter was really spectacular. It’s special whether you see that in high school, college or the pro ranks. It made my trip worthwhile flying all that way to watch the artistry play out.”