Yankees Should Regret Letting World Series Hero Get Away

It was fate until it wasn't. Four days before Christmas, Jack Curry dropped the news that Yamamoto would be headed to the Los Angeles Dodgers and that he would be joining countryman Shohei Ohtani out on the West Coast. The Yankees then pivoted to Marcus Stroman, who, a year later, much like other members of their 2024 World Series team, had trouble finding a job after their tenure in New York was up.

Yamamoto ended up having a much better year than Stroman. He pitched to a 2.73 ERA in 173.2 innings in his second full season in MLB. In six postseason outings dating back to last year, Yamamoto is 5-1 with a 2.47 ERA in 47.1 innings.

They Thought They Had Him

The Yankees went hard for Yamamoto and felt quite confident he would be in pinstripes before the 2024 season. Before it was evident where Yamamoto would be going, manager Aaron Boone gave a glowing review of the ace pitcher, even going as far as to say that he was sure they would seal the deal.

"It's hard to find a 25-year-old pitcher that's as decorated as he is and has had the level of success he's had at this point in his career over there and on the world stage in the World Baseball Classic," manager Aaron Boone said, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. "Our reports are that this guy is really good, as I think the industry sees it the same way. It feels like there's going to be a lot of suitors for him. But I feel quite confident that he is going to come over here and be a really special top-of-the-rotation-type pitcher."

Boone talked a big game before Yamamoto saw that contract from Guggenheim Baseball Management, and that bravado proved to be nothing but hot air. Those ambitions the organization may have had for Yamamoto pitching in big games on the road in Toronto or in the World Series came true—but not for them.

Losing Yamamoto Kicked Off A Year Gut Punches for the Yankees

Following the 2023 season, there had been so much promise of a more youthful core in the Bronx between Juan Soto and Yamamoto that his signing in LA became a cruel dose of reality for the Yankees. The brand can't attract the most prominent stars the way it once had unless they are shelling out record amounts of dough, as they did for Max Fried a year later. Simply being the Yankees isn't enough.

The Dodgers were involved in their next dose of reality as well. In the 2024 World Series, Los Angeles outclassed the Yankees despite a painstaking 15-year road to return to the fall classic. Then, the following off-season, the New York Mets handed Soto the biggest deal in the sport's history, eclipsing what Shohei Ohtani got from the Dodgers.

After a long year of disappointment, the Yankees settled for Plan B in Max Fried and Cody Bellinger, who were largely ineffective against a Toronto Blue Jays team now in the World Series. The argument could be made that Fried was the eventual pivot for Yamamoto, and he could not have had a more different experience this postseason than the Dodger star. Yamamoto threw a complete game in the World Series, whereas Fried imploded gloriously on the mound.

As for Bellinger — the Soto pivot — he ended up hitting .211/.282/.378 this October and dropped his wRC+ to 75 in 76 playoff games. It's a far cry from Soto's last postseason venture, where his big blast sent the Yankees to the World Series. Soto has not written his October story with the Mets, but if it is anything like his previous 43 games, in which he hit .281/.389/.538, one would think he would be fine once he gets that shot.

The Yankees can tout financial flexibility and espouse the plan B talk all they want. If you gave them truth serum, they probably wish those dreams of Yamamoto and Soto came true.

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