David Stearns talks trip to Japan to see Yoshinobu Yamamoto: 'It was a great meeting'

With the pursuit for Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto heating up, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns confirmed that he and owner Steve Cohen met with Yamamoto and his family last week in Japan.

"We met with Yoshinobu and his group and his family," Stearns said at the Winter Meetings. "It was a great meeting. Clearly, when you're in the middle of a big free agent pursuit, every club is gonna meet with him. This likely shouldn't be shocking news, but I understand that when stuff like this gets out, it's newsworthy. So yes, we met with him. It was a good meeting."

As far as Yamamoto's potential timetable -- he has until Jan. 4 to sign with an MLB club -- Stearns said he was unsure when that decision would come.

And when asked whether Kodai Senga was with Stearns and Cohen for their meeting with Yamamoto, Stearns would not confirm or deny.

He did, however, weigh in on Senga's opinion about Yamamoto potentially joining the Mets.

"He's made it clear he'd be very supportive of having Yamamoto on our team," Stearns said.

As the Mets battle the Yankees and other teams for Yamamoto, they will have to lay out their pitch. But Stearns said he looks at it as more of an ability to provide information than a sales pitch.

"I try not to look at it as selling, and I try to look at it as providing information about who we are as an organization, and what we want to do, and what we want to become," he explained. "This is a big decision for any free agent -- where to sign. And they deserve to have all the information. They deserve to make the most informed decision, and the right decision, for them and their family."

Yamamoto, whose contract might wind up near $300 million, could be an ace immediately upon his arrival in the majors, something that was obviously not lost on Stearns when asked why the interest from the Mets and the rest of the league was so strong.

"He's a potential front-end starter, and he's proven that at a high level," Stearns said. "And that's why there's a lot of teams in the industry who like him."

Stearns also discussed Cohen's involvement in the process, noting that "it demonstrates Steve's commitment to do everything he possibly can to bring players to New York."

As the Mets wait to see whether they'll land Yamamoto, Stearns said they're prepared for any eventuality. And he's ready to "go down an alternate path if needed."

SNY's Andy Martino reported earlier on Wednesday that if the Mets miss out on Yamamoto, they will pursue a different frontline starter. That could be Jordan Montgomery or Blake Snell, but most likely won't be Eduardo Rodriguez, whose decision on where to sign is reportedly imminent.

Hopefully for the Mets, they don't have to go down that alternate path.