Phillies' rumored offer to Yoshinobu Yamamoto shows Yankees never stood a chance

For once, the New York Yankees weren't at fault for botching a free agent pursuit when Yoshinobu Yamamoto chose the Los Angeles Dodgers. But that didn't stop some Yankees fans from expressing discontent, despite the way it felt at the time.

Yamamoto took a 12-year, $325 million contract from LA, which matched Steve Cohen's offer in an attempt to bring him to the New York Mets. The Yankees, at the time, reportedly presented Yamamoto the most advantageous offer for his particular situation, though.

Brian Cashman and Co. prepped a 10-year, $300 million deal that included the most money of any of the other offers in the first five years, in addition to opt-out clauses so Yamamoto could test free agency again within his prime. In the end, $325 million wasn't the number that got the job done -- Yamamoto was always going to the Dodgers, and he was just hanging out in free agency to see how high he could get them to go.

The Yankees offering $325 million -- or even $350 million -- wouldn't have changed his mind, if we were reading this situation correctly (even before Yamamoto came out and said he was likely always going to choose LA).

Throw in the reality that paying Yamamoto more than Gerrit Cole hardly made any sense, and this situation was never meant to be. Let's be clear, though. The Yankees wouldn't have had that prevent them from bringing in Yamamoto, but it did make them step back for a moment and ask themselves "What's going on?" as his market inexplicably ballooned to numbers that were never predicted within an earshot.

Need further proof that it was Dodgers or nowhere for Yamamoto? The Philadelphia Phillies reportedly offered the Japanese star more money than any other team and he still chose LA.

Phillies' rumored offer to Yoshinobu Yamamoto shows Yankees never stood a chance

The most money didn't matter. As we predicted a million times over while fans were insisting it did. And even if it did matter, who would've been comfortable giving $375 million to a guy who has never pitched in MLB?

We're not doubting Yamamoto's talent in the slightest. We still wish he were a Yankee. But New York simply couldn't let this get out of hand. After this offseason, they need to give Cole another $36 million to keep him in the Bronx. They need to extend Juan Soto. They need to address other areas of the roster that will take hits when various other players hit free agency.

Yamamoto was never solving all of the Yankees' problems, and an investment of that size, even if he were to accept, would've really put the organization in a precarious spot.

Yamamoto was destined to be a Dodger. It became more and more evident after Shohei Ohtani signed there and deferred all his money, too.

The Yankees did what they needed to do this offseason, and still left themselves flexibility to make an impact move at the trade deadline. Putting the Yamamoto conversation officially to rest should help keep the focus where it needs to be.