When Shota Imanaga defected from Japan to come over to MLB, the New York Yankees didn't seem to have much interest in the left-hander. After all, they had just spent $162 million on Carlos Rodón the offseason prior, which very much felt like a bust at the time, and were coming off a postseason-less 2023.
While Imanaga would've been a nice addition, Brian Cashman and Co. had bigger fish to fry. The Yankees went out and traded for Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo that offseason. They waited for the market to settle and inked Marcus Stroman to what seemed like a favorable deal (it wasn't) for an experienced veteran.