Negotiations accelerated between multiple teams and the agents for Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Thursday afternoon, leaving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Yankees in a strong position to sign the coveted free agent pitcher, according to league sources.
As of Thursday at 8 p.m. Eastern, the Mets had not been told they were officially out on Yamamoto, enabling the team to retain at least a shred of hope that their underdog pursuit would last another day.
Both New York teams have made significant offers, but Los Angeles made its own major move in enlisting Shohei Ohtani to recruit Yamamoto.
There was talk throughout the industry on Thursday of the San Francisco Giants as a sleeper team to sign Yamamoto, but NBC Sports Bay Area reported in the evening that they were out.
Though the Dodgers loom as a strong threat, both New York teams retain varying degrees of hope that they might still land the player. Teams involved hope that the process will conclude on Friday.