Philadelphia Phillies Made Monster Offer to Yoshinobu Yamamoto Before He Joined Dodgers
The Philadelphia Phillies apparently finished the Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes with the highest bid, according to a report from The Philadelphia Inquirer's Scott Lauber on Tuesday.
Of course, Yamamoto ultimately signed a 12-year, $325 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers in December, which immediately became the biggest payday for any pitcher in MLB history. Multiple industry sources told Lauber, however, that the Phillies tried to give the Japanese ace an even more lucrative contract.
Lauber spoke to Phillies principal owner John Middleton, who said the club "pushed hard" for Yamamoto. Philadelphia reportedly met with Yamamoto and his agents for three hours on Dec. 14, only to fall behind the Dodgers, New York Yankees and New York Mets in the race for his services.
Yamamoto is the three-time reigning Pacific League MVP and Eiji Sawamura Award winner, which is given to the top pitcher in all of Nippon Professional Baseball. He has also won three Gold Gloves, four ERA titles, four strikeout titles and a Japanese Series.
The 25-year-old went 17-6 with a 1.16 ERA, 0.860 WHIP and 9.3 strikeouts per nine innings with the Orix Buffaloes in 2023. Since making his NPB debut in 2017, he is 75-30 with a 1.72 ERA, 0.915 WHIP and 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings.
Rather than bringing that production to Philadelphia alongside Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola, Yamamoto will instead join a Dodgers rotation that features Tyler Glasnow, Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, James Paxton and Bobby Miller, when fully healthy.
Lauber's report also featured nuggets about relievers Jordan Hicks and Robert Stephenson, who wound up signing with the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Angels, respectively. The Phillies made an attempt to acquire them both, Middleton said.
Philadelphia is projected to enter 2024 with a nearly identical pitching staff it had in 2023, with oft-injured former Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Spencer Turnbull standing as the lone outside addition.
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