Brian Cashman: Hal Steinbrenner ‘gave it all’ in Yankees’ pursuit of Juan Soto

DALLAS — It was about 10 a.m. Sunday when the New York Yankees made their final offer to Scott Boras, Juan Soto’s agent. Hours later, Boras called General Manager Brian Cashman and informed him that Soto had decided to sign a 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets, increasing to $805 million over the life of the contract. dollars.

The Yankees remained in the dark about Soto’s negotiations, as did the public. There were moments throughout the process when the Yankees thought they were in the lead, only to find that the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and New York Mets had emerged as the frontrunners at various times. But the truth became clear when Boras made the final decision on Sunday evening. Cashman then held a conference call with Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner and team president Randy Levine to inform them that Soto was no longer theirs.

The Yankees’ final offer for Soto was 16 years and $760 million. But due to the staggering clause in Soto’s contract, which can increase his total salary to $805 million, the Yankees were $45 million short. Cashman said he didn’t know if Soto chose the Mets simply because they had the highest offer or if other factors played a role, but he felt Steinbrenner did his best to keep Soto for the rest of his career To keep his career as a Yankee.

“I would just say that Hal has done his best to find a way to keep Juan Soto in pinstripes and continue to keep him as part of our mix as we move forward and take advantage of our opportunity,” Cashman said. “There are many different ways to figure this thing out, and so without Juan we have to find another way.”

Brian Cashman said he has no regrets about joining Juan Soto, even though he’s a Met. He was aware of the risk that it was only a one-year commitment.

— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) December 9, 2024

Cashman said he didn’t know if Soto would have become a Yankee if they had accepted the Mets’ offer. After the Yankees submitted their final offer, their next communication with Boras was him telling Cashman that he had signed with the Mets.

“Obviously it was a disappointment that the process got us there, but I’ve been doing this for a long time,” Cashman said. “Sometimes things go the way you want them to. In other cases this is not the case. But the one thing that doesn’t change and doesn’t stop is that the challenges are always, ‘Okay, what’s next?’ What’s the next opportunity?’ We have many different areas to improve on this team.

“We have openings in free agency and we are looking at both careers and free agency and comparing those to our internal options that we could promote. So these are decisions we have to make. Whether you make it or it doesn’t work out, you still have to push through and continue to fight through every option that comes your way.”

When the Soto sweepstakes ended, Cashman said it was hard to believe their offer wasn’t enough because “we were way beyond our comfort level.” The Yankees tried to sign Soto and Boras to a possible extension, but during the season They were told they were not interested and wanted to test out free agency.

Now that he’s a Met, Cashman also said he has no regrets about the trade that sent Michael King, Kyle Higashioka, Drew Thorpe, Jhony Brito and Randy Vásquez to Soto in San Diego. He also believes there’s nothing they could have done differently last year to make the experience of having Soto even better than winning the World Series.

Their championship goal was not achieved, and their desire to keep Soto long-term also failed. The Yankees now have to come up with a plan to move forward.

“Ultimately, our plan is to defend our American League title and find a way to win the World Series in the short term, which is 2025.”

(Photo of Hal Steinbrenner lifting the ALCS trophy after winning the pennant on October 19: Jason Miller / Getty Images)