Red Sox News & Links: The Yamamoto Moment Is Here

Today is (probably) the day that Japanese phenom Yoshinobu Yamamoto is officially posted by the Orix Buffaloes, his current employer and the former employer of Red Sox left fielder Masataka Yoshida. At that point, he’ll have 45 days to negotiate a contract with a Major League team. MLB.com has created a clearinghouse site for all rumors related to his free(ish) agency. (MLB.com)

To the extent that there are any concerns about how Yamamoto will translate to the North American game, they usually center around his size, as he stands at just 5 feet 10 inches. But, interestingly, Yamamoto is just one of a number of high-profile short free agent pitchers on the market this year, along with Sonny Gray, Marcus Stroman, and Shota Imanaga. (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)

But what about a free agent who could be leaving Boston? Here are some predictions on what it will take to ink DH/infielder Justin Turner. (Sean McGuire, NESN)

We don’t need to say our goodbyes to Turner just yet, but we do need to say goodbye to Wyatt Mills, who was non-tendered on Friday. He never actually played for the big league team, though, so saying goodbye probably won’t be that hard. (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)

And while we still wait for the official introduction of Andrew Bailey, he’s more praise for the Red Sox pitching coach-elect, this time from fellow pitching guru Brian Bannister, who formerly worked for the Sox under Dave Dombrowski before working alongside Bailey with the Giants for three years. (Rob Bradford, WEEI)