MLB analyst predicts Yankees to go all out for Yoshinobu Yamamoto: "Evil Empire levels of financial aggressiveness"

25-year old Yoshinobu Yamamoto has apparently been on the Yankees' radar for a very long time. However, that does not mean that the team can expect to have a particularly easy time in their pursuit of him.

Since making his debut for the Orix Buffaloes of NPB in 2017, Yamamoto has dominated Japanese baseball. A three-time MVP winner, Yamamoto has also won a Japan Series, and boasts a career ERA of just 1.82.

Last September, New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman was in Japan to watch Yamamoto toss the second no-hitter of his NPB career. Almost immediately afterwards, major outlets began to cite the Yankees as the flamethrower's most likely MLB destination.

However, according to knowledge from SNY insider Andy Martino, inking Yamamoto will not be easy, even for a deep-pocketed team like the New York Yankees. According to Martino, Cashman and company are in the midst of drawing up a contract rumored to be worth an eye-watering amount.

"The latest on Yoshinobu Yamamoto's free agency, from @martinonyc: "The Yankees have a strong desire to land Yamamoto and a willingness to show Evil Empire levels of financial aggressiveness. The Mets had hoped that the Yanks’ acquisition of Juan Soto would take them out of the Yamamoto sweepstakes, but Hal Steinbrenner remains all-in on spending even after completing the Soto trade, per sources." - Yankees Videos

Martino drew on one of the Yankees nicknames, "Evil Empire", to describe the amount of money expected to be thrown at Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The provocative moniker first surfaced in 2002 and has remained in widespread use ever since.

Although the Yankees have long remained the favorite to sign Yamamoto, they are far from the only suitors. Among the other teams listed are the Los Angeles Dodgers. Yamamoto's appearance courtside at an LA Lakers game in November only caused rumors of a Dodgers signing to heat up.

""Brian Cashman called Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s no-hitter “fantastic” He was then asked “so next year?” and responded “have a good day”" - Talkin' Yanks

Yoshinobu Yamamoto's contract will push Yankees to the limit

Days after acquiring outfielder Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres, the Yankees know that money will be a concern. The team is already committed to paying outfielder Aaron Judge a record-setting $360 million over the next eight seasons. While the team has cash to spend, a contract of the size anticipated for Yamamoto will push that threshold to the limit.