Did Yamamoto use Mets before choosing Dodgers?

The New York Mets seemed to do everything in their power to woo and then sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto. They met with the Japanese ace twice, including a trip to Japan, and offered the biggest contract (first).

It just so happened that Yamamoto took their 12-year, $325 million offer back to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who then matched it on Thursday night, according to The Athletic’s Will Sammon.

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Did Yamamoto use Cohen and his deep pockets to raise the price on the Dodgers? According to SNY’s Andy Martino, the Mets increased their offer Thursday “from the high $200 million range,” and the Yankees followed with theirs.

Would Yamamoto have signed with the Mets if the Dodgers didn’t increase their offer? Did he like the Yankees, with their proud history with Japanese players, more than the Mets, even though they had a lower offer (10 years, $300 million)?

Alas, Yamamoto is joining fellow Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani in Los Angeles, which has committed more than $1 billion this offseason, including extending Tyler Glasnow after a recent trade.

Ultimately, the Mets did not have the sales pitch that may have mattered most to the 25-year-old: the ability to win a World Series now and do it multiple times over his contract. The rosters do not compare at this point: The Dodgers have some of the game’s biggest stars — Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Walker Buehler, to name a few.

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns wants to build a sustainable winner in the Dodgers mold, but it will take time and Cohen’s big wallet won’t guarantee a quick fix, last year’s 75-87 season proof of that after a frivolous offseason.