The New York Yankees reportedly refused to match the Los Angeles Dodgers’ record-breaking offer for Yoshinobu Yamamoto for two clear, and quite understandable, reasons this week.
After the Dodgers gave two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani a massive $700 million contract a few weeks ago, the focus at the top of the free agent market shifted to Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The three-time Nippon Professional Baseball MVP has never thrown a pitch in MLB but was more sought-after than Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell.
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After a week of speculation, just like the Ohtani sweepstakes, the Dodgers added the other top player on the market with a ground-breaking deal. While Yamamoto’s contract does not set new annual pay records for pitchers, the 12-year, $325 million he will receive from Los Angeles is the biggest contract ever given to a pitcher.
The pact surpasses the nine-year, $324 million deal the New York Yankees gave six-time All-Star Gerrit Cole back in 2019. And it seems that the previous contract is part of why the organization was unwilling to match the Dodgers offer for Yamamoto like the Mets reportedly did.
New York Yankees refused to give Yoshinobu Yamamoto bigger contract than Gerrit Cole
“Yankees decided not to match Dodgers winning $325M bid to Yamamoto because: 1. they thought $300M was the right offer, 2. they didn’t believe anyone should have a bigger deal than Gerrit Cole,” New York Post MLB insider Jon Heyman reported on Saturday.
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Cole was already a three-time All-Star and six-year MLB veteran before the Yankees broke previous records with his contract. Since putting pen to paper on the deal, Cole has gone on to three more All-Star games and won the 2023 American League Cy Young this season.
While it remains to be seen how good Yamamoto will be in MLB, on a business and locker room level it is understandable why New York did not want to match the stunning offer the Dodgers gave the 25-year-old. The team was seen as a favorite to land the pitcher before the LA made the record-breaking offer.
