Zaidi Giants Have Scouted Yoshinobu Yamamoto Jung Hoo Le

During a podcast interview with , Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said that his club has been scouting and continuing to do our work on two of the offseasons biggest international targets ace right-hander of NPBs Orix Buffaloes, and star outfielder of the KBO Leagues Kiwoom Heroes. At least 10 MLB teams are scouting Yamamoto already, with the Giants joining a list that includes (and certainly isnt limited to) the Phillies, Mets, Cardinals, Cubs, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Rangers, Tigers, Yankees, and Red Sox. Edmundo Sosa Jersey The appeal is obvious, as Yamamoto has a 1.82 ERA over his seven seasons and 897 innings with the Buffaloes, and he should have plenty of prime years left since he just turned 25 years old in August. Zaidi described Yamamoto as one of the top starting pitchers in the world , praising the right-handers tremendous combination of athleticism, stuff and command.It just looks like hes got plus stuff and hes sort of putting every pitch where he wants to, which in this day and age where were so worried about pitch characteristics and velocity, its almost different to see somebody execute at that high of a level with good stuff. A lot of positives there, and hes been an impre sive guy to watch . MLB Trade Rumors ranked Yamamoto third in of the 2023-24 free agent cla s, behind only and . This makes Yamamoto in line to receive the largest deal of any full-time pitcher this winter, with Ohtani obviously a unique case due to his two-way abilities. The bidding for Yamamoto (and the posting fee to the Buffaloes) could put his total price tag close to $200MM, especially with so many big-payroll teams in the running. The Giants payroll was in 2023 according to Roster Resource, so while still a healthy amount of salary outlay, San Francisco remained below the upper tier of spenders. However, it wasnt for lack of try to spend, as the Giants attempts to sign and both didnt materialize, due to Judge re-signing with the Yankees and with the Correa signing seemingly all but finalized before the Giants backed out due to concerns over his physical. With very little in the way of long-term payroll commitments and increased pre sure to win after a pair of non-playoff seasons, the Giants this winter, which generally runs counter to Zaidis more measured approach to roster construction during his five seasons as PBO. As Pavlovic notes, Zaidi has shied away from longer-term contracts to pitchers (apart from the clubs extension with the homegrown ). During his end-of-season media conference just a few days ago, Zaidi said on targeting pitching depth in general this winter, as he feels San Francisco already has plenty of veteran pitchers and younger arms coming up from the farm system. That said, Yamamoto is far more than a depth option, and his youth and obvious talent have seemingly made the Giants comfortable in exploring the po sibility of what would be far and away the biggest contract (let alone a pitching contract) of Zaidis tenure. Lee doesnt have Yamamotos high profile and hell come at a significantly lower price tag, but Lee could very well land a healthy contract himself during an offseason that is generally short on premium free-agent position players. Like Yamamoto, Lee is also 25 years old, would be subject to a posting fee, and has impre sed observers over seven seasons of international ball. Lee has hit .340/.407/.491 over 3946 career plate appearances for the Heroes, with 65 homers and 244 doubles. His resume includes KBO League MVP honors in 2022, five KBO Gold Gloves for his defense (mostly in center field), and a standout performance for South Koreas team in the last World Baseball Cla sic. The hitter-friendly nature of the KBO League can sometimes make it hard to fully evaluate a players statistics, and Lee is also coming off an injury-shortened 2023 campaign due to a fractured ankle. However, Lee is expected to be healthy, and his skillset offers plenty of intrigue even beyond his batting potential. Since improving the defense is a stated goal for Zaidi this winter, adding Lee as San Franciscos new regular center fielder would allow for or to play in the corner outfield slots. Former top prospect projects as the Giants 2024 center fielder for the moment, but with Lee on board, Matos could be eased into the big leagues in more of a part-time role. Matt Joyce Jersey