Cashman: Yankees Went 'Above & Beyond Our Comfort Level' in Juan Soto Contract Talks
Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRT
Featured Columnist IVDecember 9, 2024
Juan Soto signed a massive 15-year, $765 million deal with the New York Mets on Sunday, beating out the reported 16-year, $760 million offer made by the New York Yankees.
On Monday, general manager Brian Cashman told reporters that the Yankees "went above and beyond our comfort level" in negotiations with Soto and congratulated the Mets for landing the biggest free agent on the board this winter.
"There's a lot of different ways to figure this out," he added of the team's contingency plans after losing the superstar outfielder.
Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reported on Sunday that the team's Plan B included "hosting virtual calls with free-agent pitchers Corbin Burnes and Max Fried," with the Yankees likely seeking upgrades in the rotation, bullpen, infield—particularly at first base—and in the outfield, with only superstar Aaron Judge a truly reliable option.
Could that mean pursuing a trade for Cody Bellinger? Signing a free agent like Anthony Santander, Teoscar Hernández, Pete Alonso or even Alex Bregman? How aggressively will they pursue the top pitching options?
The Yankees didn't want to get to this point. Per Hoch, they tried to pursue extension talks with Soto throughout the past year, but those overtures were denied as the star outfielder focused on the season.
It was a good year for the Yankees, as they reached the World Series before falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers. But October's failure, coupled with the loss of Soto, has made the past few weeks a rough period for the Bronx Bombers.
SportsCenter @SportsCenter"I think Juan Soto looked at the New York Mets' future ... and believed that the Mets have a better future than Yankees."<a href="https://twitter.com/JeffPassan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JeffPassan</a> tells <a href="https://twitter.com/notthefakeSVP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@notthefakeSVP</a> on why Soto chose the Mets over the Yankees despite only a $5M difference 👀 <a href="https://t.co/lL4bXmARGD">pic.twitter.com/lL4bXmARGD</a>
Stephen Meyer @StephenMeyerRDCNo, Juan Soto shouldn't be the most expensive player in baseball. But no, the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Yankees?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Yankees</a> cannot recover from this.<br><br>There is no Plan B. There is no chance in hell off building a stronger lineup at less than $50M/year to replace elite offensive production.
Granted, it's possible the back end of Soto's contract will age terribly for the Mets. And committing that much money to one player makes it difficult to build out the rest of the roster without consistently facing the stiffest luxury-tax penalties.
But the Yankees, one of the biggest brands in the sport, just lost a perennial MVP candidate to that other team from New York. Beyond just the hit the Yankees are taking to their on-field product, the optics aren't great, either.
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