In December, the Philadelphia Phillies made their best pitch to Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto only to fall short. The pitcher elected to join the Los Angeles Dodgers and signed a lucrative deal in the process. But, apparently, Philadelphia offered him more.
During a three-hour meeting with Yamamoto on Dec. 14, 2023, the Phillies offered more money than any of his other suitors, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber. Yamamoto would go on to sign with Los Angeles for $325 million on a 12-year deal. The meeting also featured video appearance by Bryce Harper.
“We pushed hard with Yamamoto,” Phillies majority owner John Middleton said.
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Yamamoto, 25, had a 70–29 record, 1.82 ERA and tallied 922 strikeouts in seven seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball. He had a 1.16 ERA and 176 strikeouts in 171 innings for the Orix Buffaloes last season.
With both his and Shohei Ohtani’s additions this offseason, Los Angeles is poised to make a World Series run in 2024.
