It was reported yesterday that the Phillies were meeting with superstar Japanese free agent Yoshinobu Yamamoto. So far they are one of about a half dozen teams to be heavily connected to Yamamoto, with the favorites to win his services being the Yankees and Dodgers. We will most likely never know exactly how this meeting went or what was said in it. We can have a guess based on where Yamamoto eventually signs. But for the Phillies, the fact that a meeting exists is a huge positive sign.
Being in serious contention for a big free agent from Japan is uncharted territory for the Phillies.