Chris McMonigle says Juan Soto chose the Mets over the Yankees for reasons beyond just the money, drastically changing the landscape and the dichotomy of the sport in New York.
With the difference in the total contract value being minimal given the scale of the deal, C-Mac says Soto simply chose the Mets over the Yankees. But while the reaction from many Yankee fans is to criticize Hal Steinbrenner and long for the days when his father George ran the team, C-Mac says even The Boss might have lost some free agents to this Mets owner.
“George never had to compete with Steve Cohen,” C-Mac said.
The loss for the Yankees is devastating, especially after seeing the impact Soto had on the team, helping a team that missed the playoffs in 2023 reach the World Series a year later. But C-Mac isn’t putting that on Steinbrenner, who he believes made a competitive offer, even if it didn’t include the opt-out clause that is reportedly in the Mets deal.
“They did offer him $760 million,” C-Mac said. “Are [the Mets] just another team? No, I don’t think so. But this is the first time that a free agent they desperately wanted - you could argue it was a player they couldn’t afford to lose.
“When you say it’s not your father’s Yankees, I guess. But if they win, none of this matters...if the Yankees win the World Series, are you still gonna say that they’re not your father’s Yankees?”
Still, that is hardly any consolation for Yankee fans, as the reality is that the mighty Bronx Bombers now have more legit competition at the table when it comes to the game’s brightest stars.
“They got outbid by the Mets and the richest owner in baseball,” C-Mac said. “It has changed the dichotomy in the city...right now, the Mets are ahead of the Yankees in terms of teams willing to spend and a prime destination.”