"I'll probably go higher" - Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner says he was open to paying more than $300 million for Yoshinobu Yamamoto

New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner personally attended the team's meeting with Yoshinobu Yamamoto in December. The team was eager to get him, and manager Aaron Boone gifted him a pinstripes jersey with the No. 18 across the back.

However, the Bronx Bombers ultimately lost out on the Japanese flamethrower after he signed his deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The two sides agreed to a 12-year, $325 million contract.

The Yanks were outbid by the boys in blue. Steinbrenner and company offered Yamamoto $300 million, which ended up being the third-best offer, behind the Dodgers and Mets.

However, Steinbrenner recently admitted that he would have been comfortable offering much more, per Yankees beat writer Gary Phillips.

"I'll probably go higher than some of our baseball people would have gone. I felt it was important to the fan base and to our chances this year to really make a run and try to get him," stated Hal Steinbrenner.

Steinbrenner understands the value Yoshinobu Yamamoto brings with him. It is not just an elite arm but an entirely new group of fans, just like Shohei Ohtani.

"At $300 million, I just felt, right or wrong, that the bidding was going to continue and $300 million was a very good offer and I think a lot of our fans agreed with it," said Steinbrenner.

However, Steinbrenner felt the bidding would continue far past $300 million. At the end of the day, he felt his offer was fair and believed the fans would agree.

---

Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner pivoted after losing out on Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Yankees Owner Hal Steinbrenner (Image via Getty)

After Hal Steinbrenner learned that Yoshinobu Yamamoto would sign with the Dodgers, he quickly pivoted. They entertained signing Blake Snell and gave him an offer, but nothing resulted from it.

Instead, the Yankees signed Marcus Stroman. The two sides agreed to a two-year, $37 million deal. He should slot in nicely among Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, and Nestor Cortes.

Despite signing Stroman, the Bronx Bombers may not be done adding arms. They have teased adding another pitcher ahead of Opening Day, and quite a few are still available.

The club has not ruled out signing Snell or Jordan Montgomery. The duo are the two best pitchers without a home for the 2024 season. Signing either would completely ramp up the team's rotation heading into a season where they must get back to their winning ways.