More favorable insights emerged from the Yankees’ in-person meeting with Juan Soto and his agent Scott Boras.
Speaking at the Owners Meetings on Wednesday, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said Monday’s meeting with the superstar free agent in California went smoothly. He described it as a “very honest, back-and-forth dialogue” that lasted a couple of hours, emphasizing that retaining Soto will be — and has been — his first goal.
One day earlier, Bob Klapisch of NJ Advance Media stated that the Yankees felt “encouraged” after the discussion.
According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Steinbrenner made a “great pitch” to Soto during their face-to-face meeting.
“Whether they re-sign Soto or not — and the Soto Sweepstakes are wide open between a possible final five teams (and maybe a sixth) — the Yankees accomplished what they needed to at their high-powered get-together Monday.”
According to Heyman, Soto “felt better” about Steinbrenner during this week’s encounter. Heyman’s source, who was identified as Soto’s friend, claimed the superstar hoped to build a close relationship with Steinbrenner this year. He has developed close relationships with the other owners for whom he has previously played (Ted Lerner with the Nationals and Peter Seidler with the Padres).
Steinbrenner said on Wednesday that he and Soto did not interact much this season. The Yankees’ owner claimed that he was merely giving Soto his space during the season, not wanting to disturb because the outfielder followed a strict routine and would get into a zone at the ballpark.
According to Steinbrenner, the message from this week’s discussion was that next year and beyond would be drastically different.
“I made it clear,” Steinbrenner told me, “that the kind of relationship I would like is the kind of relationship I have with Gerrit [Cole] and Aaron Judge.”
It appears that Soto and his colleagues received this communication.
However, the Yankees can only do so much to encourage Soto to return to the Bronx. He has a host of high-profile suitors, including other teams that can make compelling arguments (and maybe offer more than the Yankees are willing to accept). Steve Cohen’s Mets are the odds-on favorites in these sweepstakes, but the Dodgers, Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Phillies are also apparently in the running.
That is why, when questioned about his confidence in the Soto sweepstakes, Steinbrenner provided a fair evaluation of the situation.
“No idea,” he answered. “We will be in the mix. “I’ll leave it at that.”
