More positive takeaways continue to flow on 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 sit-down with the superstar free agent in California went well. He described it as a “very honest, back-and-forth dialogue” that lasted a couple of hours, insisting that retaining Soto will be — and has been — a top priority.
One day prior, Bob Klapisch of NJ Advance Media reported that the Yankees came away feeling “encouraged” about the meeting.
Now, Jon Heyman of the New York Post is reporting that Steinbrenner made a “great pitch” to Soto in that 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.”
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RESTORING THE GLORY
One important wrinkle here is that Soto “felt better” specifically about Steinbrenner after this week’s meeting, per Heyman. Heyman’s source, described as a friend of Soto’s, said the superstar was hoping to establish a strong rapport with Steinbrenner this year. He’s formed close relationships with the other owners he’s played for previously (Ted Lerner with the Nationals and Peter Seidler with the Padres).
Steinbrenner mentioned on Wednesday that he and Soto didn’t interact very much during this past season. The Yankees’ owner explained that he was simply giving Soto his space throughout the year, not wanting to intrude as the outfielder had a strict routine and would get into a zone at the ballpark.
A message that next year and beyond would be completely different was conveyed during this week’s meeting, per Steinbrenner.
“I made it clear,” Steinbrenner said, “that the kind of relationship I would like is the kind of relationship I have with Gerrit [Cole] and Aaron Judge.”
It sounds like that message was received by Soto and his team.
The reality here is that the Yankees can only do so much to convince Soto to return to the Bronx, though. He has a slew of high-spending suitors, other teams that can also make convincing arguments (and possibly offer more than what the Yankees are comfortable with). Steve Cohen’s Mets are a favorite in these sweepstakes while the Dodgers, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Phillies are all reportedly in the mix as well.
That’s why Steinbrenner ultimately had a realistic assessment of the situation when asked how confident he is about the Soto sweepstakes.
“No idea,” he said. “We’ll be in the mix. I’ll leave it at that.”
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