The New York Yankees have started the 2024 season strongly. They made a big move in the offseason by acquiring Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres in a seven-player trade. Despite this, they were also in contention to add another top player. According to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, would have chosen to sign with either the New York Yankees or the New York Mets if Shohei Ohtani hadn’t joined the Dodgers and helped recruit him.
Yamamoto eventually signed a record-breaking contract with the Dodgers, worth $325 million over 12 years, joining his World Baseball Classic teammate Ohtani in Los Angeles.
Ohtani Recruiting Yamamoto
The Dodgers made the biggest splash of the offseason by signing Ohtani, the two-time American League MVP. However, they weren’t satisfied with just that addition. Yamamoto, one of the most sought-after pitchers in the offseason, was another key target for them.
Yamamoto comes to the Major Leagues with impressive credentials from Nippon Professional Baseball. He won the pitching Triple Crown there, leading the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts, and also won the Eiji Sawamura Award (Japan’s equivalent of the Cy Young Award) in each of the past three seasons. In total, he amassed a record of 49-16 with a 1.44 ERA and 580 strikeouts during that period.
Ohtani played a significant role in recruiting Yamamoto to the Dodgers, as reported by Nightengale on March 6. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged Ohtani’s influence, saying, “I think he was huge, obviously. When you’re talking about Japanese players, there’s always speculation about whether they want to play with each other. But I definitely believe that when you have someone of Shohei’s caliber saying, ‘We want you here. I want to be your teammate,’ that was a convincing point for Yamamoto.”
Yamamoto Would Have Bolstered the Yankees’ Rotation
Despite uncertainties about Yamamoto’s transition to MLB, the Dodgers were willing to make a significant financial commitment to him. While it wouldn’t have been cheap for the Yankees to sign Yamamoto, it seems like it would have been a worthwhile investment.
Yamamoto’s contract is the largest ever received by a pitcher in terms of guaranteed money, exceeding Gerrit Cole’s by $1 million, according to Chen. Additionally, he is only the third player in Japanese Baseball history to win the MVP award in the NPB over three consecutive seasons.
With Cole currently sidelined, Yamamoto could have stepped in as the team’s ace while Cole recovered. Upon Cole’s return, the pairing of the two would have formed one of the best pitching duos in baseball.
Yamamoto has a record of 3-1 in his seven starts with a 2.91 ERA. If we exclude his first inning outing in the season opener when he allowed five runs, his ERA drops to 1.64. Pairing Yamamoto with Cole would have been a significant boost to the Yankees.
Cole led the American League in 2023 with a 2.53 ERA, a 15-4 record, and 209.0 innings pitched. He also won his first American League Cy Young Award in 2023.
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