Yoshinobu Yamamoto was a bigger miss for the Mets.
The Yankees will survive status quo. They usually do.
Let’s also not forget the Bronx Bombers already lived up to their moniker by importing one of the game’s best hitters in Juan Soto to combine with another one of the game’s best hitters in Aaron Judge as part of a lineup that will be equal parts scary and fun.
Plus, even after seeing the latest superstar go to baseball’s new superteam out West, the Yankees maintain a pitching staff with some pedigree and every reason to believe their “disaster” of an 82-80 season was something of a mirage.
Key players Judge, Anthony Rizzo, Nestor Cortes and Carlos Rodon all missed significant time in 2023, and though the roster’s overall advanced age and recent track record of lingering infirmity suggest more injured list time ahead, they still possess a roster ready for contention.
What’s more, they don’t share a league with Dodgers, who cleared decent payroll space, then imported two-way wunderkind Shohei Ohtani, then beat out both New York teams for his countryman, the right-handed pitching prodigy Yamamoto, who is apparently beloved for everything, but especially for being just 25.
Even better, the rest of the Yankees’ division is moving backward.
The Orioles continue to pretend to be poor, the Rays are legitimately poor, the Jays already missed out on their two best chances for left-handed power (Soto and Ohtani) and the Red Sox keep behaving like a small-market team, though they don’t have poor Chaim Bloom to kick around anymore.
For all their nifty pickups this winter, the Mets meantime don’t look primed to be a prime-time player anytime soon.
They promised to be competitive, and I believe that was their intention, but for today they look like a team that can compete only with the Marlins and Nationals in a two-tiered division fronted by the more-talented Braves and Phillies.
The Mets did right to change course and dump future Hall of Famers Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer.
But the harsh ramification now is they have a team that’s tough to sell to star free agents.
The long history of misfortune is one thing to overcome, but a mostly static roster that produced a 75-win season is a mountain in endeavoring to outmaneuver the determined Dodgers in big-time free agency.
While the Yankees acted pretty confident in their pursuit despite early reports Yamamoto possessed a West Coast bias, the Mets had to understand they were likely in over their heads.
The Dodgers have the year-round sun and surf (not to mention a superteam). The Mets bid the same $325 million as the Dodgers but surely understood they were up against an all-time winter juggernaut.
We will never know if Yamamoto intended to attend the Rams game Thursday night with Ohtani, as originally reported, but I know some executives involved now believe that boys night out was only canceled so Yamamoto’s agents wouldn’t have to overcome his preference for Dodger blue in negotiation. That may well be filed under the heading of a conspiracy theory, but hey, not all conspiracy theories turn out to be wrong.
Anyway, it’s time to move on to the next free agent, and it’s nice to hear the Yankees are considering trying to bring back former Yankee Jordan Montgomery or engaging in yet another bidding war for yet another Japanese star, the left-hander Shota Imanaga.
They also are looking at Frankie Montas, who was technically a Yankee, too. So, they have options.
The Mets have alternatives, as well, and they obviously have the wherewithal.
But from the start they seemed almost 100 percent invested in the Yamamoto long shot that didn’t come in.
They’ve checked in on every available free agent, including Montgomery and even National League Cy Young winner Blake Snell, and from here, to fulfill their promise and goal of competitiveness, they’ll need to add to the top of the rotation, not just continue to acquire clever depth pieces like Adrian Houser.
I wrote here that if the Mets failed to land Yamamoto they should target Snell, superstar closer Josh Hader and recovering star Brandon Woodruff, and maybe new baseball president David Stearns’ Brewers connection to Woodruff and Hader (who is said to have no hard feelings about being traded by Stearns) has an edge there.
They would have plenty of competition for Snell (from likely at least the big-market Giants, Angels and Red Sox) but may not have to deal again with the historic Yankees or irresistible Dodgers (who can’t possibly be looking to add yet another nine-figure pitcher).
If they prefer, they can pursue Imanaga, Montgomery, Lucas Giolito or significant trade option Dylan Cease (barring extension deals, Corbin Burnes, another longtime Brewer, and Shane Bieber seem less likely since they are rentals due to be free agents after the year).
Stearns’ incremental additions are nice, but to fulfill their objective to regain competitiveness this baseball season and in free agency next winter, the Mets need to do something more impactful.
Though this episode was a disappointment for the Yankees, it’s potentially disastrous for the Mets.
