Mets Could Have Signed Star Free Agent If It Weren't For Shohei Ohtani

This past offseason certainly was an interesting one.

Some of the top free agents had to wait a surprising amount of time to sign -- like New York Mets slugger J.D. Martinez -- and some others landed record-setting contracts. One player who had a great offseason was former Orix Buffaloes ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

The young ace was looking for his first big-league opportunity and had a handful of clubs showing heavy interest in him. He ended up signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers but the Mets were finalists for his services and offered him a massive deal but missed out.

While the Mets didn't end up signing Yamamoto, they reportedly could have if Shohei Ohtani hadn't also signed with the Dodgers and recruited him, according to USA Today Sports' Bob Nightengale.

"Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto would have signed with the New York Yankees or Mets, persons familiar with his thinking say, if Shohei Ohtani had not signed with the Dodgers and helped recruit him," Nightengale said.

New York was linked to Yamamoto on numerous occasions and owner Steve Cohen and president of baseball operations David Stearns even traveled to Japan to meet with the ace. The Mets offered him a massive contract like the Dodgers but didn't have Ohtani on the roster.

The Mets have been surprising so far this season and have seen an improvement in the rotation but it could've been even better if Yamamoto had decided to land with New York instead of Los Angeles.

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