Overview
- The Dodgers landed Yoshinobu Yamamoto on a 12-year, $325 million contract, while the Yankees reportedly stopped at $300 million and declined to exceed Gerrit Cole’s $324 million deal, according to Jon Heyman.
- Heyman also reported that New York offered a five-year opt-out but no $50 million signing bonus, terms Los Angeles included in its winning bid.
- Yamamoto has validated the investment with a 2.66 ERA and 306 strikeouts over 48 regular-season starts across two years for Los Angeles, per Newsweek.
- He delivered back-to-back postseason complete games, including a World Series nine-inning gem on 105 pitches with eight strikeouts and a stretch of 20 consecutive batters retired, as reported by Heavy and The Sporting News.
- After missing on Yamamoto, the Yankees signed Max Fried for eight years and $218 million, a choice now criticized alongside the roughly $2.08 million-per-year gap that separated New York’s offer from the Dodgers’ deal.