Chichester: Yankees facing identity crisis after losing Juan Soto to crosstown Mets
Remember the talk after the Nets’ “clean sweep” that rattled the NBA offseason, as Brooklyn grabbed Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and DeAndre Jordan, after months of speculation that the Knicks would finally return to prominence with a monster free agency?
The Yankees are facing a similar reckoning that James Dolan and company did after the trio of superstars chose the “little brother” over the mammoth brand and household name.
Sure, the Yanks have much more sustained and recent success than the Knicks did back in 2019, but the sheen of the pinstripes has clearly worn off. Being a Yankee isn’t seen as it once was. How else can they explain Juan Soto turning down a reported 16-year, $760 million deal to head across town to play for the Mets on a record-breaking 15-year, $765 million payday?
Yes, there is a reported clause than can bring the deal north of $800 million if Soto uses an opt-out after five years and the Mets veto it, but that’s beside the point. One of the game’s brightest stars, and possibly the biggest free agent the sport has ever seen, had a year to immerse himself in being a Yankee, experienced bringing the franchise back to the Fall Classic - where the team used to book yearly trips to as if it were a vacation destination - yet still chose the team just a few miles away, one with far less notoriety and much less history to lean on.
Hal Steinbrenner, Brian Cashman, and the entire Yankee brass are likely asking themselves, ‘How?’ They would be better off asking themselves, ‘Why?’
Consider Dec. 8, 2024 a day of reckoning for the most successful franchise in baseball history. The money, when stacked up against each other on that massive scale and comparing the difference, was damn near negligible. The location was even less negligible. There was no variable of Soto wanting to play in a different area, a different time zone, none of that. He simply chose the Mets after the Yankees had a full calendar year head start to sell him on a product that used to sell itself. It’s time for the Yanks to look in the mirror and figure out why.
Perhaps it was in the process, as Will Sammon of The Athletic reported that Soto coveted a close relationship with ownership, and it was Cohen who met with him at one of the owner’s homes, preached a civic duty to making the Mets a winner, and ultimately turned the tide after the momentum felt like it was moving towards the Bronx. Maybe it’s time the Yankees stop leaning on their image that has gathered some dust over the years, and change how they operate when it comes to assessing potential areas of improvement. After missing out on the playoffs in 2023, Cashman vehemently defended the organization’s process to reporters the following winter. He then made the splash for Soto and rode that wave back to a World Series, where fundamentals killed the team in the Fall Classic. The team defended its process again. Perhaps it’s time to admit areas need addressing, changes need to be made, and the white interlocking NY isn’t the selling point they think it is anymore.
Back when Irving and Durant signed with Brooklyn, all the talk was how players don’t care about big markets or brand names anymore. So it’s time for the Yankees to realize that their name is no longer bigger than the sport, as they were just outdone by their neighbors who went the extra mile.
