The New York Yankees lost out in the biggest sweepstakes of this MLB offseason when Juan Soto decided to jump ship and head across town to play for the New York Mets. Soto's 15-year, $765 million contract is the biggest deal in professional sports history.
The Yankees reportedly offered Soto $760 million over 16 years, so the Mets just barely edged them out for the best offer. On Monday, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman finally spoke out about losing Soto after the dust had settled, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB Media.
“Brian Cashman said the Yankees ‘went above and beyond our comfort level' in bidding for Juan Soto,” Hoch reported on X, formerly Twitter. “He congratulated the Mets on getting the player and said of the Yanks’ offseason plans, ‘There’s a lot of different ways to figure this out.'”
Cashman later spoke about how badly Hal Steinbrenner wanted to keep Soto and make him a Yankee for the rest of his career according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic.
“I would say Hal went above and beyond to try to find a way to keep Juan Soto in pinstripes,” Cashman said, per Kirschner. “There’s a lot of way to figure this thing out. We’re just gonna have to figure out a different way.”
Cashman and the Yankees now have the tall task in front of them of rebuilding the rest of the roster using that money from Soto to fill in other gaps. The Yankees could use some more help in the starting rotation as well as some better defenders in the infield. Someone like Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker would be a realistic option to go spend on.
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Despite the long road of work ahead and the short-term payoff of acquiring Soto, who was only in pinstripes for one season, Cashman said that he doesn't regret the trade, according to Hoch.
“It's not a deal we regret,” Cashman said, per Hoch. “He impacted us in a heavy way. I'm just sorry we fell short in the World Series.”
No matter how the Yankees rebound from this, replacing Soto will be a near-impossible task. If the Yankees want to taste that American League glory of last season, they will need to make all of the right moves in the next few months to get there.
