Yankees await Juan Soto decision after ‘good meeting’

NEW YORK — Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner confirmed that club officials recently met with free agent slugger Juan Soto in California, describing it as a “good meeting” that included “very honest back-and-forth dialogue” without divulging much other details.

“Our fans really enjoyed having him in New York,” Steinbrenner said Wednesday in the lobby of MLB’s offices, where the owners’ meetings are being held this week. “He’s definitely a big part of why we got to the World Series. I’ve got ears. I know what’s expected of me. So look, that’s been a priority. We wouldn’t have gone out to the West Coast if that it wasn’t.”

Steinbrenner said the Yankees’ delegation included general manager Brian Cashman, manager Aaron Boone, president Randy Levine and Omar Minaya, a special assistant to the general manager. The owner declined to share the team’s pitch with Soto or if offers were made in a few hours, but he said he told Soto he wanted to establish a relationship with the star outfielder similar to the one he has with the franchise -cornerstones Gerrit Cole and Aaron Assess if Soto chooses to re-sign. Steinbrenner noted that Soto asked about the organization’s player development system.

“No idea,” Steinbrenner said when asked if he was confident the team would re-sign Soto. “We want to be in the mix. I’ll leave it at that.”

In addition to the Yankees, Soto has met with the New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers over the past week. The Mets, backed by the deep pockets of billionaire owner Steve Cohen, are widely considered the Yankees’ main competition for Soto’s services.

“I could say that about a few other owners, too,” Steinbrenner said when asked about Cohen’s buying power. “Or corporations, for that matter, that represent the ownership circle. So I mean, that’s obviously a concern.”

The Yankees acquired Soto and outfielder Trent Grisham from the San Diego Padres last December for five players. They made the trade knowing it would require a significant investment to retain Soto, then a accomplished three-time All-Star entering his age-25 season. Soto continued to raise his price another notch with an outstanding 2024 campaign, teaming with Judge to create the most dangerous duo in baseball.

The 26-year-old right fielder had 41 career home runs with a .288 batting average, .989 OPS, 129 walks and an American League-leading 128 runs scored. He made his fourth All-Star team, and his 8.1 fWAR ranked fourth in the majors. He provided the production while providing entertainment value with pomp and showmanship and helped lead the Yankees to their first World Series appearance since 2009.

Soto’s looming free agency prompted the Washington Nationals to trade him in July 2022 after he rejected a 15-year, $440 million offer and led the Padres to unload him last year. Now he’s expected to get a contract well over $500 million that could break records for highest current total value and current annual average value. The price the Yankees are willing to pay to sign Soto is unclear.

Last offseason, Steinbrenner said the Yankees established a “walkaway” number when they negotiated right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who ended up signing with the Dodgers. The owner said he hasn’t “thought about it” regarding Soto.

Including Soto’s $31 million salary in 2024, the Yankees got approx. $80 million in free agents coming off their books after they had a $300 million plus luxury tax. Steinbrenner reiterated that spending that much money on the roster is not sustainable.

“We’re in a better starting position than we were a year ago. There’s no question about that,” Steinbrenner said. “Look, year after year after year after year, paychecks equal to this year and the luxury taxes they produce are not sustainable. That’s the case for the vast majority of owners, maybe all of them. Year after year after year – it doesn’t. It doesn’t mean that in any given year I can’t do what I want, I mean we have the ability to sign any player we want.

Steinbrenner said he did not know what the next step was in the pursuit of Soto. He said he has “no idea” if the Yankees will meet with him again. Whether or not the Yankees wait for Soto to make his decision before moving on to other players remains to be seen.

“Haven’t made that decision,” Steinbrenner said. “But again, guys are going to start coming off the board, right? So that’s a discussion that needs to be had.”