Recent conflicting reports about the Red Sox and Yoshinobu Yamamoto don’t inspire confidence that the Japanese starting pitcher will end up in Boston.

Several reports have the Red Sox in the mix, making a genuine effort to reel in the offseason’s biggest starting fish. Some claim they’ve already offered him over $300 million, which the Herald can’t confirm at this time.

Unfortunately for the Red Sox, it isn’t a one-way street. Their supposed push for Yamamoto – while an improvement over their last several offseasons of reticence – will be a small consolation if it doesn’t bear fruit, and he seems more drawn to other suitors on his very full dance card. It turns out that he was completely in a New York state of mind when he came east to meet with teams. According to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe, the 25-year-old ace met with the Mets and Yankees, but didn’t come to Boston.

Instead, representatives of the Red Sox made the trip to Los Angeles in order to speak with Yamamoto. He’s also spent time with the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. This week, Andrew Baggarly wrote the Giants are “determined to blow teams out of the water, if necessary, to sign him.” However, The Athletic reporter also cautioned, “Now it’s clear that at least four or five teams are ready to turn on the same fire hose… the odds of the Giants getting the player aren’t as promising as I thought they were two months ago.”

Are the Red Sox even in that group anymore? It’s hard to say at this point. They’re playing things extremely close to the vest. That he was only a 40-minute plane ride away and didn’t come up to Boston isn’t promising, though.

Under the posting guidelines Yamamoto has until January 4 to make a decision, but MLB insider Jon Heyman reports that he will do so by Christmas.

At present, it’s not shaping up to be most wonderful time of the year for Red Sox fans.