Well at Least the Mets Didn't Get Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Steve Cohen left it all out on the field:
Steve Cohen on the Mets’ pursuit of Yamamoto:
“I left it all on the field.”
Ultimately, the Mets were not given the opportunity to up their offer from $325 million after the Dodgers matched it.
(Via: @NYPost_Mets) pic.twitter.com/pU7vglh7cY
— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) December 22, 2023
Yoshi Yamamoto went to the Dodgers for $325 million over 12 years. So they now have Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, J.D. Martinez, Max Muncy, Will Smith, Clayton Kershaw, and Yamamoto as well. They will win 120 games and proceed to lose to the Cubs in the NLDS.
Were the Phillies ever serious players for the Japanese pitcher? Doesn’t seem like it. Anthony wrote a story about the Phils being in on the conversations, and how that was a step forward, and some people crapped on his post, saying that moral victories don’t mean anything. That is true, but it’s not about being unable to lure big-money players, since they got Bryce Harper and Trea Turner here, it’s about being in play for Japanese stars specifically. The Phillies don’t have any kind of meaningful history with those players and have only ever had two from Japan on the roster in the entirety of franchise history. If you’re ever going to have a real shot at signing those kinds of guys at some point, you have to start somewhere.
There were multiple teams that offered $300 million or more for Yamamoto. Steve Cohen rolled out the red carpet for this guy, who probably just wanted to play in LA from the start, alongside Ohtani. We can twist ourselves into pretzels talking about various “finalists” and “bidding wars” and whatnot, but that’s probably the simplest explanation for how this all played out. LA was the destination.
The overarching takeaway for Phillies fans is that at least he didn’t go to a division rival. Uncle Steve’s money can’t buy everything.