Perched in a room overlooking Yokohama High School\u2019s baseball field, six members of the Yankees organization met with Shoki Oda in his native Japan on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
A coveted 18-year-old pitching prospect<\/a>, Oda was drafted by the Yomiuri\u00a0Giants in the first round of the Nippon Professional Baseball draft last month. However, he is not expected to sign with them. Instead, Oda has been meeting with MLB teams as he looks to take his talents to the United States fresh out of high school.<\/p>\n While Brian Cashman wouldn\u2019t talk about the Yankees\u2019 sit-down with Oda at the GM Meetings this week, their contingent included international scouting director Mario Garza, supervisor of global acquisitions Matt Slater, Pacific Rim coordinator Nao Masamoto, and scout Alex Sunderland, a team source told the Daily News. Minority owner Soichiro Minami and senior director of pitching Sam Briend also gave the Yankees representation from ownership and player development, helping them stand out a bit from Oda\u2019s other summits.<\/p>\n Yokohama manager Hiroaki Murata and Oda\u2019s mother also attended the gathering, which lasted roughly two hours and received paparazzi-like treatment from Japanese media outside the school.<\/p>\n It is unclear if the Yankees made Oda a formal offer during their get-together.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a productive meeting,\u201d Garza, declining to share specifics, told The News during a brief phone call. \u201cReally, really enjoyed it. It was my second time at Yokohama High School, and everybody was very welcoming and accommodating. It was very productive.\u201d<\/p>\n While Garza didn\u2019t want to detail the meeting, the source said that the Yankees left feeling more \u201chopeful\u201d about their chances with Oda than they\u2019ve been previously. That said, they mentioned that it\u2019s tough to get a sense of where the Bombers stand with so many teams vying for Oda\u2019s services.<\/p>\n The Tigers, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Phillies, Mets and Rangers have also met with Oda, but more meetings are expected, including one with the Dodgers. The righty, who would begin his career in the minors if he joins an MLB team, is not eligible to sign until Jan. 15, 2027, meaning Oda would be part of next year\u2019s international signing class<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to the source, the Yankees\u2019 presentation leaned heavily into player development. With Briend, one of their pitching gurus, present, they discussed ways to maximize Oda\u2019s potential and scrawny 6-1 frame, which is already capable of throwing over 97 mph.<\/p>\n \u201cI truly believe in our development,\u201d the source said, \u201cand if that\u2019s a deciding factor, then I feel good about the information we put forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Oda is not the only Japanese amateur on the Yankees\u2019 radar.<\/p>\n The source said that they have also been scouting and \u201cwould love to sign\u201d Kosei Hiroike, a right-hander from Keio University. While not considered a top prospect like Oda, Hiroike can hit 97 mph, too. He went unselected in the NPB draft last month after making his own MLB ambitions known.<\/p>\n Even if the Yankees, who haven\u2019t successfully courted a Japanese star since Masahiro Tanaka signed in 2014, don\u2019t land these pitchers, their recruitment efforts are part of a bigger picture.<\/p>\n Garza, promoted to his position last January after his predecessor, Donny Rowland, misspent millions in Latin America<\/a>, has been hellbent on diversifying the amateur pool from which the Yankees find international talent. He has been especially focused on the Asian markets while also dabbling in Europe.<\/p>\n \u201cI want people to know that we care about Asia,\u201d Garza told The News in June after the Yankees inked Taiwanese pitching prospect Chien-Fan Lai<\/a>. The teenager became the third amateur free agent in franchise history from Taiwan, and the first Asian amateur that the club had signed in 12 years.<\/p>\n