Yoshinobu Yamamoto's dominance for Dodgers reminds Yankees of how far they've fallen

When the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers were reportedly battling it out for Yoshinobu Yamamoto, it became apparent that Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman made one thing clear, as they do with most free agents — there is a limit to how far they are willing to go.

After the dust settled and Yamamoto signed a 12-year, $325 million contract with LA, reports surfaced that the Dodgers were always his preferred destination and that New York was believed to be a negotiating chip to further drive up the price. It's certainly believable, and we don't doubt it for a second.

But, once more, the Yankees did not put their best foot forward. They did get creative with their reported $300 million offer, which would've paid Yamamoto a higher AAV and given him favorable opt-out clauses. At the time, many fans applauded that. If Yamamoto was always preferential toward LA then Cashman had to do something different.

Later down the road, however, fans learned that the Yankees got "creative" because they backed themselves into a corner. Reports suggested they were unwilling to pay Yamamoto more than Gerrit Cole (who is on a nine-year, $324 million contract) considering the fact Yamamoto never threw a pitch in MLB and Cole has a decorated history as one of the best starters in the modern era. Again, we didn't blame them. It made sense.

But does free agency always make sense? Does "logic" get you the best players on the open market or via trade? The answer is usually no. Front offices in this day and age need to go above and beyond with their contract and trade offers in order to acquire the top talents they so desire.

Would Yamamoto have accepted $350 or $375 million to come to New York? The problem is we will never know because the Yankees refused to extend themselves beyond what the Dodgers were offering. And now he's already a World Series legend, having thrown a complete game on Saturday night in Game 2 to stifle the Blue Jays and tilt the scales back in the Dodgers' favor with three home games on deck.

Yankees' miss on Yoshinobu Yamamoto looms large yet again as Dodgers reap rewards

The Yankees used to be the ones setting the table with their offers to free agents. They were the ones tracking down top international talent. Now it feels like they've turned into the "other" shiny destination that can help position free agents to get the most money they want from the team they were angling for all along. Rather than saying, "Oh, you like the Dodgers? Well do you like the Dodgers more than [this amount of money and perks]?" they say, "Here's the best we can do, good luck in your future endeavors." Or at least that's what it feels like.

A year after missing out on Yamamoto, the Yankees opted to pay Max Fried $218 million over eight years — the largest free agent contract in history for a left-handed starting pitcher. Could it turn out to be a brilliant move? Absolutely. Fried is an excellent pitcher and has been playoff tested throughout his career.

But Fried also entered his age-31 season in 2025, whereas Yamamoto was 26. Yamamoto came with similar high-leverage experience pitching in the World Baseball Classic. He won a gold medal for Team Japan in the Olympics. He was the most dominant pitcher in NPB as a 23- and 24-year-old. It's not like he was nothing but hype and potential. There was the mystery of his MLB performance, but he was regarded as arguably the greatest pitcher to ever come out of Japan.

The Dodgers took the plunge, knowing they'd corner the market with both Ohtani and Yamamoto on their team of the next decade. They've reaped the rewards both performance-wise and marketing- wise. The Yankees? They drew a line in the sand with Yamamoto. They drew a line in the sand with Blake Snell. They drew a line in the sand with Freddie Freeman. The list goes on and on, we'd rather not make ourselves sick.

You get the picture. The Yankees had a chance to dethrone the Dodgers before LA even staked its claim. Now, they face an insurmountable task of slaying what could be the biggest giant MLB has seen in regard to high-powered investments, global dominance, and October success.