Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner sounding like The Boss in pursuit of Juan Soto
Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner talks to reporters at the MLB owners' meetings in Manhattan on Nov. 20, 2024. Credit: Newsday/Tim Healey
Nobody knows yet where Juan Soto is going to sign, probably not even the “generational talent” himself. If we assume this is all about the money, down to the last nickel, then Soto’s decision can’t happen until the offers start rolling in, most likely later this month.
But we can tell you this much after listening to Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner speak on his team’s pursuit Wednesday during a break at the MLB owners meetings in midtown Manhattan. Steinbrenner is as committed to locking up Soto as he was Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole, sounding more like his dad than at any other time in recent memory.
Hal doesn’t spout the bluster of The Boss, maybe because he doesn’t have the same bully pulpit as George enjoyed decades ago, when the Yankees’ financial might — and their willingness to weaponize it — was nearly unrivaled in the sport. But if you tune in closely to Hal’s words, you can pull out a similar vibe on occasion, and not just from the similar speech pattern of his pop.
That came through occasionally during Wednesday’s 14-minute chat, an impromptu news conference — against a hotel lobby wall — that Steinbrenner annually volunteers to do on his own, unlike baseball’s 29 other owners. He’s under no obligation to field questions at this league function, but regularly stands in front of the media firing squad anyway, and Wednesday’s tone suggested he liked the Yankees’ chances of bringing Soto back to the Bronx after Monday’s summit in SoCal.
As for money, let’s just say Steinbrenner tends to be selective when it comes to hiding behind the dollar signs. He shelled out a record $324 million when the Yankees desperately wanted Cole after the 2019 season. Two years ago, Hal caved in to Judge’s demands by forking over $360 million — the highest contract ever for a Yankee — in an 11th-hour agreement he did over the phone from Italy.
You get the same feel here with Hal and Soto. Only this time it could be for double Judge’s deal, putting the Steinbrenner pedigree to the test. Back in June, standing in that same lobby spot, Hal talked about how $300 million payrolls were “unsustainable” throughout the industry, not just in the Bronx. Although he repeated that claim Wednesday, Steinbrenner didn’t cry poverty for this winter. Quite the opposite.
“It doesn’t mean in any given year I can’t do what I want to do,” Steinbrenner said. “We’ve got the ability to sign any player we want to sign.”
That’s definitely true this year, as the Yankees had $80 million come off the books from last season’s payroll — creating plenty of flexibility for a Soto salary that could exceed $45 million over the next 12-15 years. Also, you can count Soto among that very exclusive group that Steinbrenner allows himself to go overboard for, and he’s been smitten with him almost from the day Soto first put on pinstripes.
How do we know that? Steinbrenner gushed about the Soto Effect on his Yankees at last June’s owners meetings — the winning, the attendance, the TV ratings — and was so head-over-heels by the trade’s immediate success that he seemed to believe they had a chance at getting an extension done midseason (a virtual impossibility with a Scott Boras client).
Wishful thinking, of course. We don’t blame Steinbrenner for trying while the Yankees had an exclusive audience with Soto, but Boras wasn’t going to engage in any negotiations that didn’t include the Mets’ Steve Cohen, or the deep-pocketed Dodgers. Hal was hoping that the Yankees’ brand could help sway Soto, as it did for Judge and Cole, but the whole pinstriped legacy shtick didn’t take hold. Soto appeared immune to it.
Plus, Soto just likes the money better. And that’s the battle Steinbrenner & Co. face in the weeks ahead. For, as much as Hal was encouraged by Monday’s meeting, and believes that Soto enjoyed his season in the Bronx, deep down he knows the Yankees need him a lot more than the other way around. It’s a feeling that’s made Boras the game’s richest agent, and he’s banking on that sentiment to push Steinbrenner to places the owner normally wouldn’t go.
But don’t underestimate Hal, either. While Cohen has generated the most smoke around Soto, and is certainly considered the favorite — thanks largely to his personal $21 billion fortune — these are still the Steinbrenner Yankees. Maybe the pinstriped prestige thing has taken a backseat with Soto’s generation, but the Yankees also have plenty of cash, and Hal understands the importance of putting his money where his mouth is. This is one of those moments that again calls for Boss behavior.
“We listen to our fans, right?” Steinbrenner said. “Our fans really enjoyed having him in New York. He’s definitely a significant part of why we got to the World Series. So, I’ve got ears. I know what’s expected of me. It’s been a priority. I wouldn’t have gone out to the West Coast if it wasn’t.”
From the Yankees’ perspective, Soto’s recruitment phase is over. The next step is a transactional one, when it will be time for Hal to show up with his checkbook. That’s the true measure of a Steinbrenner, and there was no indication Wednesday he’s about to shrink from that responsibility now.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.