The Los Angeles Dodgers were the biggest winners of the MLB offseason by far. They landed Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto as the highlights of their storied free agency spending spree. The Dodgers will easily be the tal of the MLB for the 2024 season and the favorites to take home the World Series title. However, a new report states that the Philadelphia Phillies offered Yamamoto more money than the Dodgers, per Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer:
‘Team officials don’t disclose specifics of contract talks as a matter of course. But after meeting for three hours Dec. 14 with Yamamoto and his agents, and making a presentation that featured a video appearance by Bryce Harper, the Phillies offered more money than any team, according to multiple industry sources. That includes the Dodgers, who won the Yamamoto auction with a 12-year, $325 million bid that stands as the largest guarantee for any pitcher ever.'
The Phillies were in a flurry of rumors to be big spenders in MLB free agency, and it appears they made Yamamoto a massive offer before the Japanese star ended up joining Ohtani in Los Angeles.
Furthermore, Phillies owner John Middleton had no reservations about paying Yamamoto big money: “We were going to sign Yamamoto for a lot, a lot of money, and we never thought twice about it in terms of a budget impact. We thought about it in terms of a competitive impact.”
The Phillies still feel good about where they are headed despite missing on Yamamoto, especially after a run to the NLCS before losing to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
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