Superstar Pitcher Explains Why He Didn't Sign With New York Yankees

The New York Yankees missed out on this superstar pitcher in free agency, but they did make a serious push to land him.

The initial belief is that highly sought after Japanese phenom Yoshinobu Yamamoto preferred to play on the west coast and that is why he chose to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers for 12-years, $325 million over the Yankees and Mets.

However, according to Joel Sherman of The New York Post, Yamamoto chose the Dodgers because of their long track record of success, as well as their strong atmosphere within the organization.

“I really got the impression that the Dodgers were very successful for a very long time,” Yamamoto said to Sherman through a translator. “And just that the atmosphere with the organization was really good.”

As Yamamoto told Sherman, the Mets and Yankees made it clear that they were serious about bringing him in. Per Yamamoto, both clubs "communicated" to him that they wanted him.

The Mets offered the same amount of money and years to Yamamoto, who went back to the Dodgers. As a result, Los Angeles matched it and he is now a Dodger. The Yankees made the 25-year-old a much lower offer at 10-years, $300 million. The word is that the Yankees did not want to pay a pitcher more than the $324 million that reigning AL Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole is being paid.

The Yankees signed Marcus Stroman to a two-year, $37 million, but beyond this move have not done much to upgrade their pitching staff. While they did make multi-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell a contract offer worth $150 million, it was well below his asking price and the offer is now off the table.