When the schedule was released, this weekend was likely to be a preview of the World Series in the Bronx.
In the end, the Yankees acquired Juan Soto, while the Dodgers, who begin a three-game series at Yankee Stadium on Friday, made some bolder offseason moves.
They beat out the Yankees and Mets for Japanese starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, signed Shohei Ohtani from the Angels and acquired Tyler Glasnow in a trade with the Rays.
The Dodgers come to New York comfortably in first place in the National League West as the only team with a winning percentage above .500 in the division, but they have yet to display the dominance many expected following a strong winter season.
Meanwhile, the Yankees, with their one-two punch of Soto and Aaron Judge, are coming off a seven-game winning streak heading into the series finale against the Twins, and their performance may actually be exceeding the lofty expectations placed on them.
They also accomplished this without reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole, who has been sidelined since spring training with an elbow injury but is scheduled to make his season debut later this month.
Still, for a Yankees team that has dominated weaker rivals, having the Dodgers come to town will at least be a good test.
They haven’t played a series against a team with a winning record since winning a four-game series against Seattle from May 20-23.
The Yankees will begin with a series against the Dodgers, then play Los Angeles, followed by Kansas City, Boston, Baltimore and Atlanta, five consecutive games against teams with at least an even record as of Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers have recently lost five straight games and dropped their first two games in Pittsburgh in their final series before heading to New York.
Ohtani has been limited to playing as a DH this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in September, but his .989 OPS ranks third behind Judge and Soto, but he had a bit of a down day on Thursday, with just four extra-base hits in his past 15 games.
Mookie Betts is also having an excellent season, but like Ohtani, he has struggled offensively, with a .678 OPS over his past 29 games.
The right-handed pitcher turned down a 10-year, $300 million offer from the Yankees and signed with the Dodgers for 12 years and $325 million.
“We felt like we had a pretty good advantage,” manager Aaron Boone said of the Yankees’ pursuit of Yamamoto. “We didn’t think we could get him, and we never thought we couldn’t get him.”
Gerrit Cole said he’s “hopeful” he can get Yamamoto, but he’s heard he wants a different position.
“I wasn’t too surprised that he didn’t sign with us,” Cole said of the 25-year-old.
Though he signed the richest contract in history for a starting pitcher ($1 million more than Cole), he posted a solid but unspectacular 3.32 ERA in 12 starts.
Yamamoto has a 4.30 ERA over his past four games.
With Yamamoto and Ohtani joining the Dodgers for the first time and the Yankees being the best-performing team in the league, Boone said the stadium “should be a great atmosphere. Both teams are really strong with a lot of stars. It’s going to be a pretty special environment.”
