The Philadelphia Phillies were interested in signing Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The star pitcher ended up signing a 12-year, $325 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski recently addressed Philadelphia's pursuit of Yamamoto and ultimately failing to sign him.

“I think we were extremely competitive,” Dombrowski said, via Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. “We were very, very competitive. We were aggressive. When we made our presentation [last week in Los Angeles], I think our guys did a tremendous job. I think they presented the organization well.

“I don’t think it had anything to do with anything else. He just preferred to be a Dodger. Ultimately, he was just not a person attuned to coming to Philly.”

Yamamoto is projected to be a superstar. LA has been extremely aggressive this offseason, already signing Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani to lucrative contracts in MLB free agency. The Dodgers also acquired Tyler Glasnow and Manuel Margot via trade from the Tampa Bay Rays and later signed Glasnow to an extension.

Nevertheless, the Phillies likely still feel comfortable with their roster. Bryce Harper and Trea Turner lead a strong lineup, while Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler anchor the starting rotation.

Phillies' free-agency plan

Philadelphia could attempt to sign other star players in MLB free agency. For the most part, though, they are seemingly comfortable with their current roster.

The Phillies will still be a team worth monitoring closely as the offseason continues on. We will continue to monitor and provide updates on Philadelphia as they are made available.