How Mario Garza and Matt Slater Can Salvage the 2026 IFA Class!

The New York Yankees’ 2026 international free agent class was, by all accounts, a complete fumble in the making. After the departure of long-time scouting director Donny Rowland and the stinging loss of top prospect Wandy Asigen just weeks before the signing period opened, to the hated cross-town Mets, Yankee fans were expressing their expressing their frustrations loudly on social media and demanding the Yankees find someone they could poach. Only problem is...who?

Enter Shoki Oda.

Oda could potentially make history, and single-handedly salvage the Yankees IFA class. At just 17 years old, Shoki Oda is the rare pitching prodigy who looks like a created character in a MLB The Show. Standing 6'1" with a lean, athletic 175 pound frame, he carries the legacy

of Yokohama legends like Daisuke Matsuzaka, but with a modern, explosive edge that MLB teams covet.

MLB scouts are gathering to observe him before the upcoming Nippon Draft, and numerous MLB teams are interested in his age, promising physique, and strong four-pitch repertoire:

• A fastball that sits 92-94 and topping out at 95.6 mph.

• An 81-mph slider with sharp, late break.

• A diving Changeup.

• A 12-6 Curveball.

If the Yankees have been searching for a way to boost their 2026 IFA class, pivoting most of their remaining bonus pool toward Oda could provide a great solution to Yankees International Scouting Director Mario Garza.

While there are five other teams (including the Dodgers) pursuing him, if the Yankees

play their cards right, at the 11th hour they could just land arguably the top international free agent of this class.

Garza possesses a dual advantage here: he can present Oda with the Yankees' success in nurturing young pitchers and also highlight the financial aspect. The Yankees have retained approximately 80% of their IFA Bonus money, which amounts to over twice the remaining IFA bonus money of the Dodgers, with about $4.7M compared to the Dodgers' $2M. This significantly increases the likelihood that the Yankees could offer Oda the opportunity to become the highest-paid Japanese amateur to bypass the Nippon league.  By more than doubling Shotaro Morii’s $1.5 million record set in 2025, the Yankees wouldn't merely be acquiring a pitcher; they would be executing a historic coup against the Japanese developmental system.

To secure the rights to a talent like Shoki Oda, who would have to make the historic decision to skip the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) draft, the mission would require some heavy hitters with experience. Luckily, the Yankees now have those weapons at their disposal.

Here is where the Yankees could deploy the duo of Matt Slater and Nao Masamoto. Nao is the international scouting guru who was instrumental in bringing Seiya Suzuki and Shota Imanaga to the Cubs. Their mission should be clear, to sell Oda on the Yankees development process that could possibly have Oda in the Bronx by the time he's 20-21! By putting Oda under the watchful eye of Sam Briend (Director of Pitching), Matt Blake (MLB Pitching Coach) and others, the Yankees are offering him a development fast track that the NPB simply cannot replicate.

Under the guidance of Briend and Blake, the Yankees have become a factory for MLB ready arms like Luis Gil, Will Warren, Cam Schlittler, Elmer Rodríguez, Carlos Lagrange and Ben Hess. The pitch is really simple, "Don't wait for the NPB posting system. Join us now and let the best pitching developmental staff in baseball work."

Signing Oda allows the Yankees to bypass the heavy posting fees, he years of waiting for a Japanese player to reach free agency, and the expensive nine figure contract.

If Garza is able to pull this off, the 2026 class won't be remembered for who they lost...it will be remembered as the year the Yankees landed the future of Japanese pitching before he ever had to throw a pitch in the NPB.

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