As the world awaits Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s decision, the Japanese ace provided a look behind the scenes to praise the man who is attempting to earn him a record contract.
Yamamoto posted a photo on his Instagram Story around midnight Sunday night showing him on a plane next to his agent, Joel Wolfe, with the photo captioned in Japanese, “#Super Joel,” along with a plane emoji.
Yamamoto certainly has reason to be calling Wolfe “Super Joel” as it seems Wolfe has a potential bidding war brewing among some of the biggest spenders in the sport.
The Post’s Joel Sherman reported the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Giants, Red Sox, Phillies and Blue Jays as contenders for the 25-year-old’s services.
This past week featured some significant meetings and reporting on the Yamamoto front as teams are making their push to land the ace.
The Mets hosted Yamamoto at owner Steve Cohen’s house in Greenwich, Conn., for their second face-to-face meeting, while the Yankees also met with Yamamoto on Sunday after previously meeting in Los Angeles.
The New York teams are bidding head-to-head for a massive free agent for the first time since Cohen became the Mets’ majority owner in 2020.
The Dodgers, fresh off signing Shohei Ohtani for $700 million, had a star-studded pitch featuring Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.
There has not been as much buzz about the others, but The Athletic’s Jim Bowden reported the Giants and Red Sox both made “strong” pushes and each has offered more than $300 million.
The Phillies also leaned on their star power, having Bryce Harper FaceTime with Yamamoto, according to MLB Network.
The Post’s Jon Heyman recently handicapped the Yankees and Dodgers as co-favorites to sign the ace before the Jan. 4 deadline, with the Mets coming in third.
It’s becoming clear that Yamamoto will sign one of the biggest pitching contracts ever despite having never pitched in MLB before.
And if that happens, Yamamoto surely will be thanking “Super Joel.”
