The New York Yankees are off to a strong start in 2024. The Yankees made one of the biggest splashes in free agency this offseason when they acquired Juan Soto in a seven-player trade from the San Diego Padres. However, the Yankees were in the front-running to make another marquee addition. Los Angeles Dodgers Yoshinobu Yamamoto “would have signed with” the Yankees or New York Mets if not for Shohei Ohtani, according to USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale.

“Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto would have signed with the New York Yankees or Mets, persons familiar with his thinking say, if Shohei Ohtani had not signed with the Dodgers and helped recruit him,” wrote Nightengale.

Yamamoto signed a record-setting deal with the Dodgers in free agency. He signed a 12-year, $325 million deal, joining his World Baseball Classic teammate, Ohtani, in Los Angeles.

Ohtani Recruiting Yamamoto

The Dodgers made the biggest signing of the offseason when they signed Ohtani. Adding the two-time American League MVP clearly wasn’t enough for the Dodgers. Yamamoto was one of the most coveted pitchers in the offseason, and rightfully so.

“He comes to the Majors having won the pitching Triple Crown in Nippon Professional Baseball, leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts, and the Eiji Sawamura Award — Japan’s version of the Cy Young — in each of the past three seasons. Altogether, he went 49-16 with a 1.44 ERA and 580 strikeouts in that span,” wrote MLB.com’s Sonja Chen.

Ohtani “recruited Yamamoto to the Dodgers,” wrote Nightengale on March 6. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts credited Ohtani for playing a role in Yamamoto’s decision.

“I think he was huge, obviously,’’ said Roberts. “When you’re talking about the Japanese players, there’s always speculation, do they want to play with each other? Which nobody ever knows. But I certainly believe when you have a person of Shohei’s caliber saying, ‘We want you here. I want to be a teammate of yours,’ that was a good selling point for Yamamoto.’’

Yamamoto Would Have Bolstered the Yankees’ Rotation

Despite the unknowns about Yamamoto being able to transition into the MLB, the Dodgers were willing to commit a large sum to him. It would not have been cheap for the Yankees to sign Yamamoto, but it seems like it would have paid off.

Yamamoto’s contract is the most guaranteed money ever received by a pitcher, surpassing Gerrit Cole by $1 million, according to Chen.

“Yamamoto is only the third player in Japanese Baseball history to win the MVP award in the NPB over three consecutive seasons,” wrote MLB.com.

With Cole currently sidelined, Yamamoto would have been able to fill in as the team’s ace while Cole recovered. Upon Cole’s return, the duo would have been one of the best in baseball.

Yamamoto is 3-1 in his seven starts with a 2.91 ERA. Excluding his inning outing in the season opener when he allowed five runs, his ERA is 1.64. Pairing Yamamoto with Cole would have been a huge boost to the Yankees.

Cole’s 2.53 ERA, 15-4 record and 209.0 innings pitched all led the American League in 2023. Cole won his first American League Cy Young Award in 2023.