Hal Steinbrenner on 2025 Yankees: We're better than last year
![Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner talks with reporters during spring training at George M....](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.newsday.com%2Fimage-service%2Fversion%2Fc%3AMTk3ZjE4YmEtYjhmNC00%3AZmQ1MzU3MGMtYTc4ZC00%2Fspyside240223_photos.jpg%3Ff%3DLandscape%2B16%253A9%26w%3D770%26q%3D1&w=1920&q=80)
Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner talks with reporters during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Feb. 22 in Tampa, Fla. Credit: Newsday/J Conrad Williams
Hal Steinbrenner, in an interview with YES Network that aired on Tuesday night, said he thinks the Yankees are a better team even without Juan Soto on the roster.
“Some people may disagree with me, but I think we have a better team right now than we did a year ago today,” Steinbrenner told YES’ Meredith Marakovits. “I think our starting rotation is better. I think our defense is better. And I think that [Cody] Bellinger and [Paul] Goldschmidt are going to make up for a good deal of Juan's offense, his bat.”
The Yankees reached the World Series in 2024 with Soto before losing to the Dodgers. Soto then signed with the Mets for 15 years and $765 million. The Yankees added Bellinger, Goldschmidt, Max Fried and Devin Williams as their main pieces this offseason. Spring training opens in about two weeks.
Steinbrenner also said the Yankees are planning to have contract extension talks with manager Aaron Boone, who is in the last year of his deal after the club picked up his option following the season.
“I’ve always thought Aaron Boone was a very good manager and that’s his reputation in the industry,” Steinbrenner said. “We will be talking to him in the days and weeks to come. We’re trying to hit the priorities right now, which is the roster itself. But there will be conversations had with him about potentially staying longer than that.”
Steinbrenner also focused on baseball’s new “Evil Empire,” the Dodgers, who, according to reports, continued their massive offseason on Tuesday by signing reliever Kirby Yates to a one-year, $13-million contract.
The World Series champions are projected to have a 2025 payroll of more than $376 million. The Yankees, while not exactly a small-market team, are projected to have a payroll of $303 million.
"Well, look: It's difficult for most of us owners to be able to do the kind of things that they're doing,” Steinbrenner said of the Dodgers. “Now, we'll see if it pays off. They still have to have a season relatively injury-free for it to work out for them, and it’s a long season, as you know, and once you get to the postseason, anything can happen. We’ve seen that time and time again. We’ll see who’s there at the end.”
Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes told the New York Post that it’s “fine” if other teams are mad at Los Angeles for all the spending.
“We are focused on and tasked with making sure our team is as good as possible,” Gomes said. “If that is creating ire elsewhere, that’s fine, because I think that means our fans are very happy, which is what the goal is. I think the nature of our sport, the nature of the playoff format, you can be technically the best team and it doesn’t guarantee you anything. All we’re doing is making sure that we have as talented a team as possible.”
The Dodgers last season were the top team in the regular season and then took out the Yankees in five games in the World Series.
The Yankees lost the first three games, won Game 4, and then blew a 5-0 lead in the finale in part because of a nightmare inning that included three fielding mistakes, including a dropped fly ball by Aaron Judge in center that is still inconceivable three months later.
Said Steinbrenner: “We’re way better than we showed in that last series. We’re going to be better defensively this time around, if we make it. I believe, if we make it, we’ll get the job done. But we’ve got to play our best game when you’re playing a team like the Dodgers. It’s like playing the Kansas City Chiefs. You can’t make mistakes. You can’t give them outs. You can’t give them runs. You’ve got to play your best game. We didn’t do that. I think that makes us even more hungry to get there again this year.”
Boone, in an appearance on WFAN on Tuesday, said his current plan is to play Bellinger in center with Jasson Dominguez in left. He also said he expects Jazz Chisholm Jr. to move back to second base after playing third following a mid-season trade from Miami. Boone said Oswaldo Cabrera, DJ LeMahieu and Oswald Peraza are third base candidates, but added that this is all based on the current roster and doesn’t include any further additions the Yankees may make before Opening Day.