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Former Yankee Mike Stanton On Why New York Passed On Yamamoto

The Yankees passed on Yamamoto and Stanton shares his take on the situation

On a recent episode of Bleav in The Bronx Podcast, former Yankee Mike Stanton and USA Today reporter Pete Caldera discussed why New York opted not to offer Yoshinobu Yamamoto as much as the Dodgers.

It has been reported that the Yankees only offered the Japanese superstar $300 million, while the Dodgers and Mets offered $325 million. Stanton talked about why his former team did not match the other offers.

“He has never thrown a pitch in Major League Baseball, and you just paid him more for Gerrit Cole. I think that was the hangup for the Yankees; they paid Cole 324, and it took 325 for Yamamoto to sign with the Dodgers,” said Stanton. “From what you have told me, Cashman and the Yankees didn’t want to go over 300 or over that Gerrit Cole number, and you have to remember Cole is a Cy Young award winner.”

Stanton also mentioned that Yamamoto is only 5’10”; traditionally, ace pitchers are over 6 feet.