Plus a new Red Sox Hall Of Fame class.
Yesterday, we passed on reports that the Red Sox have already offered a contract worth over $300 million to Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto. This information came via reports from both Dominican baseball reporter Marino Pepen and Jim Bowdoin, a former GM who currently writes for The Athletic. Later in the day, ESPN’s Jeff Passan pumped the brakes on that. According to Passan, Yamamoto’s people weren’t even prepared to accept any offers until this week. Between these reports and the Shohei Ohtani plane-tracking episode, MLB beat reporters have not been covering themselves in glory this winter. (Jeff Passan, ESPN.com)
Hopefully this all comes to an end soon, as it’s looking like we might have a decision by Christmas. (Jon Heyman, NY Post)
But don’t worry, we have personnel moves! Craig Breslow has hired a new hitting coordinator, Dillon Lawson, who served as the Yankees hitting coach from 2022 to July 2023, when he became the first coach Brian Cashman ever fired in the middle of a season. This stove is getting hot! (Sean McAdam, MassLive)
Meanwhile, the Red Sox Hall of Fame has announced its new class. Congratulations to Dustin Pedroia, Jonathan Papelbon, Trot Nixon, and longtime executive Elaine Steward on being enshrined in . . . wherever the Red Sox Hall of Fame actually is. (Julian McWillams, Boston Globe)
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