Did Yankees Really Have Shot To Sign Yamamoto?
Did the New York Yankees really have a shot at Japanese pitcher star Yoshinobu Yamamoto?
That’s the perplexing question that Yankees officials must have been asking themselves after learning Thursday night that they lost the 25-year-old phenom to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Yamamoto ultimately accepted a deal, first reported by the YES Network and later in the evening several outlets had the details of the deal with the Dodgers — $325 million over 12 years. The deal comes with an opt-out after six seasons for Yamamoto, so he can re-enter the market in his early 30s.
The total financial commitment to Yamamoto may be the key here. It’s $1 million more than the previous high for a starting pitcher. The Yankees know this because they handed out the deal — $324 million to current Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole.
Yamamoto now owns the largest single deal given to a pitcher in baseball history, even though he hasn’t pitched an inning in the Majors.
Further, The Athletic compared the deals offered by the Yankees and the Dodgers. There were differences, but there is some subtle context.
For instance, yes, the Yankees offered $300 million over 10 years. That was less than what the Dodgers offered. But the Yankees’ deal had a higher average annual value — $30 million to the Dodgers’ $27.08 million.
The Yankees were willing to give Yamamoto an opt-out too. In fact, the Yankees were willing to give that opt-out one season earlier than the Dodgers.
Adding up the posting fee for Yamamoto, the Yankees were willing to fork over $200 million for five guaranteed years with the right-hander.
Where the Dodgers beat the Yankees was on the length of the deal and the signing bonus. The Dodgers gave Yamamoto a $50 million signing bonus, something that wasn’t part of the Yankees’ deal.
The Yankees offered a higher AAV and an opt-out a year earlier. The Athletic also reported that the Yankees might have offered Yamamoto a signing bonus if “negotiations had progressed.”
Clearly they did not. And, knowing that the New York Mets offered Yamamoto the same amount of money the Dodgers did, leads one to believe that he and his agent, Joel Wolfe, played the market perfectly.
Yamamoto broke the bank, set a financial record for pitchers, got a signing bonus and ended up in sunny L.A.
Maybe he never wanted to be in New York. But negotiating with both New York teams certainly was a means to an end.
