The Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes have gone through several ups and downs. The first reports said he preferred the West Coast. Then rumors spread that the Samurai Japan ace prefers a team that has a Japanese player, but his agent Joel Wolfe was quick to discredit them. Yamamoto wants to play for the best team irrespective of geography or a home connection. But when will he give final consent to his team of choice?

It is expected that Yamamoto would not be delaying his decision for long. Recent reports suggest the ace would not need the entire 45 days allotted to him to reach a decision. Just how quickly can things move for the record-breaking pitcher?

Yoshinobu Yamamoto has a strict deadline that he wants to follow

With nearly half of the league after him, Yoshinobu Yamamoto has no lack of suitors. But this could lead to long talks and time lost. Perhaps that’s why the ace has decided to create a timeline for himself that he will follow while talking to different teams. It all begins with Zoom meetings.

SNY’s Andy Martino provided a possible timeline that the 25-year-old could follow. Yamamoto will conduct his preliminary meetings over calls. Then he would narrow down the teams after those meetings and have final talks after MLB’s Winter Meetings. 

So there is a huge possibility that we might see Yamamoto join a team by mid-December or year-end at the latest. Most clubs too prefer that he make a quick decision because they can focus on other pitchers if their talks fall through with him. 

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Yamamoto’s early decision would also help him fully adjust to the new country. And the earlier a team gets a player like him, the more time they’ll have to find others that will help build the winningest roster in the league.

How Yamamoto could give strength to different teams

Yamamoto is renowned for his consistent and deadly fastballs, which are highly coveted.  The biggest connection remains the New York Mets but one mustn’t count the New York Yankees out. Especially as pitching at Yankee Stadium in pinstripes intrigues him.

Apart from fastballs, it’s his high strikeout rate that attracts teams like the Arizona Diamondbacks. The D-Backs lacked a pitcher who could provide high strikeouts and became one of the reasons why they couldn’t win the World Series.

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So with the timeline set, it’s only a matter of a few days. The festive season can come early with both Shohei Ohtani and Yamamoto looking to make a decision quickly.