It Just Got VERY Real…

It Just Got VERY Real…

It just got very real for the New York Yankees as an insider has provided a massive update regarding multiple free agents that the Yankees have been looking at, specifically one that has been connected to the Yankees time and time again, and another one who fans have been on for a very long time now. We’re going to go over these new updates, discussing everything going on with the New York Yankees right now, as we are in the thick of it with free agency right now in middle December. Right now, we are expecting some contracts to happen very, very soon. That involves Cody Bellinger and Kyle Tucker and many pitchers as well and involves a whole lot of players and the Yankees are yet to make a big-time move. They’ve made some m some more minor stuff. Bring back Tim Hill, bring back Ryan Yarro, bring back a Med Rosario. All good moves. All stuff that I do like that the Yankees did, but we’re yet to see that big one. And guys, we are going to go over that right now. If you’re part of that 66% that’s not subscribed to Yankees Digest, we are keeping you up to date with everything regarding the Yankees. If you want to know Yankee Yankees baseball, this is the place to be because we are not missing a day of uploads all off season long and all of 2026. We will have a video out every single day and we will keep you up to date so you know everything that’s going on with the team. We’re going to break down everything that happens with the Yankees so you never have to question anything and also so you can get more of an opinion on your team that you love. But let’s jump into it then the team that you love. I freaking love the Yankees too. Look, here’s the deal. Right now the New York Yankees, they have yet to been making a big signing. Now, the team has, again, they’ve made these smaller moves, but we do have an update regarding Brian Cashman’s plans because, look, I’ve talked a lot about how I want to see another starting pitcher add to this team that I don’t mind being a six-man rotation with Garrick Cole coming back from the injury once he comes back in like the later spring area and then Carlos Rdon once he gets back as well from injury. The Yankees right now have four and a half starters. I’m saying four and a half because now, especially with Alan Winn’s leaving, it’s very clear that Ryan Yarro will step in as the fifth starter when the Yankees need him to. And he did a decent job starting as well. kept the RA under four which was impressive and had a good season overall with the Yankees though he dealt with an injury. Look right now there has been so much talk surrounding Tatsuya MI and recently we did get an update from Brian Hul about it and Hul said my sense is that the Yankees interest in Amay is legitimate. They haven’t had a Japanese player since Masahiro Tanaka but it hasn’t been for a lack of trying. Remember they were right there at the finish line for Yoshi Noi Yamamoto. Brian Cashman made an interesting point recently about the pursuit. They’d just gotten back from meeting with Yamamoto in Los Angeles where there were some perfect beach weather days and then they hosted Yamamoto in cold gray New York and Cashion remembered thinking this isn’t going to help us. And of course the Dodgers out everyone which is really what it was all about at the end of the day. So to answer the question, yes, I believe saying Brian Hoke that the Yankees are right there in the MI market. There’s too many reasons for them not to be. And I completely agree. I mean, the Yankees, they haven’t landed a Japanese star in a long time. The last one is Masahiro Tanaka. And Tanaka has been outright honest about the fact that the Yankees treat Japanese talent very, very, very well. Both Tanaka and Hideki Matsui have time and time again said that their decision to join the Yankees was an excellent move because the Yankees know how to treat their overseas Japanese players. So, they end up landing in free agency. They treated Tanaka very very well especially and Tanaka has really advocated for many different players specifically pitchers to go to the Yankees. That definitely had a positive impact on Yamamoto and probably Roki Sasaki as well though Sasaki was beling it for the Dodgers anyway and Yamamoto was between the Yankees and the Dodgers at the end of the day. The Mets talked to him as well, but the Yankees didn’t pay enough for Yamamoto. If they outpay the Dodgers then Yamamoto would be a Yankee and Yamamoto is one of the best pitchers in the MLB. So that was a mistake on the Yankees part to not go a little bit higher on the bid so they could have officially formed the Yamasoto plan that everyone wanted them to do. Obviously things have changed since then and Tatsuya Mi not viewed as in high regard as Yamamoto was but MI is someone who is a super super super talented player and he’s shown that. I mean his RA has been excellent. Had an RA under two last season and hasn’t had an RA over 2.5 since 2021. The man’s been dealing. He gets strikeouts. He does everything right and that’s really what you want to see. a guy who had 179 strikeouts just and I mean the man was excellent. He’s been so good last year having a 1.82 erra. He showed that he is that guy that he’s ready to step in. He’ll be a good strikeout pitcher. Gets over a strikeout per inning and also can be that Yankees extra starter forming an excellent starting lineup for the New York Yankees when it comes to their pitching rotation. I mean look once they’re fully healthy having Garrett Cole having Carlos Hardon Max Freed Cam Schlitler and Tatsuya MI is downright dangerous. The fact is it also lets you move Luis Heel to the bullpen which kind of makes a lot of sense right now for Heel and also you could explore using Will Warren as a sixth starter or even explore trade scenarios with Will Warren as well whether that’s for another pitcher or that is for some other type of talent depending on who it is. It sort of depends on the market as well but there will be names that definitely get brought up as time goes on. Now Tatsuya my propaganda post from Yankee season 99 from Freddy in 2025 he had a 1.92 RA 178 strikeouts 2.47 47 walks per nine innings which is phenomenal and also 9.79 strikeouts per nine with five complete games. Amay is that dude and he brings the Yankees an elite talent and the Yankees are super interested as is Amay. He’s interested as well. Amay’s also doubled down multiple times on his Dodgers stance saying they don’t need me after the Edwin Diaz signing or just in a general sense. I mean, with Sasaki ending up in the bullpen, he my understands it can be hard to find pitching there. And also, he has said that he has no problem being the only Japanese player on his team. It doesn’t really bother him at all. And at the end of the day, he wants to be somewhere where he feels truly valued. The Dodgers, they’re just trying to add everyone and anyone. And Amay clearly wants to fight that. He wants to be the guy who goes against that. And that is very noble of him, which I really do appreciate as well as a baseball fan. Look, as Francis Romero also mentioned, around five teams in the MLB have shown real interest in Tatsuya MI. Now, the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs are expected to be among finalists. The Cubs have landed Shoto Amagna in recent years and a few other Japanese stars as well. And the Yankees, they’re going to go hard at Amai and the Yankees can easily outbid the Cubs and I really hope they do because adding Amay would be absolutely huge for this squad going forwards. Now on top of that we also just understand that when we sort of look at these Japanese stars there has been one that it’s been very very very quiet about recently and that’s none other than Munitaka Makami. Murakami a powerhitting first and third baseman though really a first baseman at the MLB level has been someone who has been talked about for over a year at this point. There’s been noise about Murakami. The Yankees have long held interest in Murakami. However, moving Ben Rice to first base really has changed everything because look, Murakami is not playing third base. He’s not built to be a third baseman at the MLB level. He’s a first baseman. That one sort of puts a ceiling on how much he’s getting paid considering it’s a position that you don’t need to have a great fielder for. You’re just looking for a bat. And on top of that, it depends on where Makami is wanted. Now, the expectation is that he goes to the Dodgers. He’s been seen wearing a Dodgers hat before a year ago. most of the expectation is he just ends up going there and they stick him at third anyway and just tell Max Muny to go kick rocks. I mean that’s a realistic possibility right here. So I would expect that something like that does end up happening. But at the same time there has been a lot of noise about Murakami and whether or not he ends up going to a different team or not or where he ends up signing. His time to sign is honestly getting very close to being up. It’s up in a few days. So we’re gonna see Murakami sign quite soon if we’re being honest. So that’s something we have to be well aware of. Murakami hit over a over a one OPS this season. Had a 663 slugging percentage with a non-base percentage of 379. The man has been downright excellent over the past couple of seasons being a serious home run threat as well. In 2022, he had 56 home runs. Had a slugging percentage in the 710 mark and the on base percentage at 460. So obviously when you calculate that a 1.17 OPS the man is downright excellent. So I mean he’s someone who you look at or 1.170 that was throwing me off if I’m being honest but really when you look at him he is an elite elite hitter. Now the Yankees were rumored to him a lot more often earlier on but now those rumors have started to go away a bit from American. There’s been some thoughts surrounding what happens with him and where he goes. And Bob Nightingale said there is mystery surrounding him and it might actually be working to his advantage, saying that if you’re really serious about a guy, you keep it as quiet as possible because you don’t want anybody to know how interested you really are. There has been a lot of talk about Murakami. So clearly there are interested teams. It’s just a matter of finding which team makes sense for him. There has been also some noise surrounding Murakami and believe it or not, the Chicago White Socks as David Showfield did predict the White Socks will land Murakami on a 5year $80 million contract. That feels kind of low. So, we’re going to see what happens with Makami. I mean, I’m gonna be honest. I do expect Makami to just end up on the Dodgers. It’s just it the way the Dodgers have been able to dominate the Japanese market and also there are openings. I mean, but having that third base spot at Maxy, the Dodgers would get rid of Muny for Makami. And at the same time, Freddy Freeman’s contract is up in a year, so it wouldn’t be the craziest scenario to see them replace Freeman, though I don’t think they do that because the culture that Freeman has brought there and all that stuff. But it is something to be well aware of with Amay specifically. I do think he is the Yankees to lose right now and I really do hope the Yankees sign. I’m a big fan of his game and I would love for the Yankees to keep optimizing pitching. As we know, Brian Cashman has said before, you can never have enough of it. Guys, what do you think? Do you want to see a sign with the Yankees or would you rather have the money get allocated elsewhere? Let me know what you think in the comments down below. Like this video. Do you have any interest in Makami as well? Let me know that, too. Like this video. Subscribe. Turn on post notifications. Have a wonderful day, guys. Go Yankees.

Chris Gallagher breaks down MLB insider Bryan Hoch’s updates on the Japanese free agents and the Yankees interest.

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