Dodgers Beat Phillies For Top Free Agent Pitching Target

The Philadelphia Phillies saw their latest free-agent pursuit stolen by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Philadelphia Phillies did not win the Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes as the right-hander will sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Jeff Passan of ESPN reported on Thursday that the Dodgers and Yamamoto were in agreement on a 12-year, $325 million contract. The Dodgers have yet to formally announce the deal. 

Los Angeles has now spent more than $1.1 billion this winter with the signings of Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, and Tyler Glasnow, the last of which was a trade but he agreed to a five-year contract extension. The Dodgers are clearly in a win-now situation.

For the Phillies, not signing Yamamoto isn't the end of the world, especially after they were able to retain Aaron Nola. 

However, a National League signed Yamamoto, which means there's a chance that the Phillies and the Dodgers, both playoff teams a year ago, could meet in the postseason in 2024. 

Yamamoto was the best available free-agent pitcher on the market. But, there remains several options if the Phillies opt to go for anothe starter, such as two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell. 

This could be a sign that the Phillies are done pursuing big-ticket items this offseason. It would not be surprising, however, to see president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski continue to find ways to get better. 

If the front office was willing to spend on Yamamoto, they could find other players to pursue.

Dombrowski may believe he has to make a move now that the Dodgers have loaded up. Philadelphia is in its own win-now situation and may not be content after this move for the Dodgers.