The Red Sox will meet with Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the coming days, MLB’s Mark Feinsand reports.

With Shohei Ohtani signed to his record-breaking $700 million Los Angeles Dodgers contract, Yamamoto is the biggest star on the free agent market. He’s also one of the most promising talents to hit the posting system, coming off his third consecutive MVP and Sawamura Awards (their Cy Young equivalent) season in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league.

Boston has been linked to Yamamoto throughout the offseason and scouted him in Japan this summer. They also have a potential advantage on their roster; he and Masataka Yoshida were longtime teammates on the Orix Buffaloes. They also played together on Team Japan, and took home the gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. The Red Sox outfielder classified their relationship as a “close” one to the Herald in September.

However, the Toronto Blue Jays will also be meeting with Yamamoto this week, and after losing the Ohtani sweepstakes to the Dodgers in stunning fashion, will be highly motivated – and more than financially capable – to make a splash. Both American League East teams’ meetings are following their division rival New York Yankees, who saw him on Monday.

Yamamoto is expected to receive a contract of at least $200 million, but with the heated competition for his services, could end up with a deal closer to $300M. Of the aforementioned AL East teams, the Red Sox are in the best financial position to sign Yamamoto; after 2024, Boston has no more than $80.6M in guaranteed contracts for each of the following three seasons. At present, only Devers’ contract goes beyond the ’27 season. The Blue Jays are currently operating with similar flexibility, but also have to consider stars like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, who will each become free agents in two years. The Yankees, meanwhile, are already two consecutive seasons over the luxury tax, have several large long-term contracts on the books, and a farm system ranked in the bottom ten by several evaluators.

Of course, the competition from outside the division is fierce as well. To show how serious they are about him, New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and new president of baseball operations David Stearns flew to Japan weeks ago for a meeting on Yamamoto’s home turf. The Giants met with him on Sunday, and like the Blue Jays, are under pressure to come through with a significant signing; last offseason, San Francisco failed to sign Aaron Judge, then backed out of their 13-year, $350 million deal with Carlos Correa when he failed his physical. The Dodgers could also go for Yamamoto, thanks to the deferral-heavy structure of Ohtani’s contract.

Several former stars will be in attendance at next month’s Red Sox Winter Weekend in Springfield, Mass.

Wade Boggs, Dennis Eckersley, Carlton Fisk, Fred Lynn, Pedro Martinez, Lou Merloni, David Ortiz, Jim Rice, and Luis Tiant are among the alumni contingent, the team announced on Tuesday.