The Boston Red Sox are losing out in the AL East arms race; the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles are as deep as ever, the Toronto Blue Jays have made their willingness to spend the league's worst-kept secret, and the New York Yankees, in addition to trading for star left fielder Juan Soto, may be one of the frontrunners for the services of burgeoning 25-year old Japanese starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

However, it seems as though it's only a matter of time before the Red Sox step up in their attempts to bolster a roster that won 78 games last season. According to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, the Red Sox contingent will be meeting with Yamamoto in the coming days.

Plenty of teams are interested in securing the services of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, so simply booking a meetup with him and his camp won't be enough to make Red Sox fans believe that they're ahead or at the very least, in a favorable spot in the free-agent sweepstakes. But this is a good sign that Yamamoto sees the possibility of playing in Boston.

Nevertheless, given how many interested teams there are in the Yamamoto sweepstakes, the Red Sox may find it difficult to give the 25-year old Japanese international the best destination in terms of competitiveness and money.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, as Mark Feinsand pointed out, had already met with the Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers, with the latter having acquired Shohei Ohtani from free agency already. The New York Mets and San Francisco Giants had also met with Yamamoto, and the Mets, under Steve Cohen's watch, have had a near-unlimited budget, while the Giants recently signed Jung-Ho Lee to a huge deal.

The Red Sox may have to go above and beyond their competition for Yamamoto's services, but in recent years, there's been hesitation on their part to splash the cash. Given how much it would take to secure Yamamoto's signature, the Red Sox may end up not being one of the most enticing destinations for the 25-year old starter. However, things can change if his meetup with the Red Sox camp turns out well.