Yoshinobu Yamamoto is following Shohei Ohtani to the Dodgers, spurning New York for the west coast as the Yankees and Mets both came up short for a pitcher they both badly wanted.
According to SNY's Andy Martino, one New York team seemed to want Yamamoto more than the other, at least from a financial standpoint.
Per Martino, as bidding picked up on Thursday, Steve Cohen increased his bid to 12 years and $325 million, which prompted the Yanks to up theirs to 10 years and $300 million. Still, despite Cohen showing he meant business with that $325 million offer, it appeared to come down to the Yanks and Dodgers, but the Yankees didn't seem to have the desire to intensify the bidding war.
So, Yamamoto took the most money to play on the west coast with Ohtani, leaving the Yankees still searching for rotation depth, while the Mets appear even more barren in their rotation for 2024.
