Hal Steinbrenner talks Juan Soto: 'We've got the ability to sign any player we want to sign'
Hal Steinbrenner spoke at the MLB owners meetings on Wednesday afternoon, and he didn’t reveal much about the meeting he and Yankee brass had with Juan Soto this week, but made it clear that he hears the outside noise regarding his reputation and the demand to keep Soto in the Bronx.
“We listen to our fans. Our fans really enjoyed having him in New York,” Steinbrenner said, via Max Goodman of NJ.com. “He’s definitely a significant part of why we got to the World Series. I’ve got ears. I know what’s expected of me.
The Yankee owner says that signing Soto is a “priority,” which he believes he reinforced by traveling across the country to meet with Soto and Scott Boras. It is believed the crosstown rival Mets will be a top competitor for Soto’s services, and Mets owner Steve Cohen is by far the richest owner in the sport, but Steinbrenner plans on competing with Cohen’s money to keep Soto in pinstripes after the 26-year-old superstar had a career year with the Yanks in 2024.
“We’ll be in the mix,” Steinbrenner said. “I'll leave it at that.”
Aaron Boone, Brian Cashman, Randy Levine, and Omar Minaya were at the meeting with Soto, which Steinbrenner said lasted “a couple of hours.” Per Tim Healey of Newsday, Steinbrenner called the meeting “very honest,” with Soto asking questions about aspects of the organization like the Yankees’ player development system, which has its share of questions given the overall failure of the Baby Bombers era outside of Aaron Judge, though it has its share of success stories given the fact that Judge exists, Luis Gil just won Rookie of the Year, Austin Wells was a finalist for the award, and Anthony Volpe won a Gold Glove in his rookie year a season ago.
Those young contributors on smaller contracts could open things up for the Yankees to spend money elsewhere, and while Steinbrenner has publicly opined that teams shouldn’t need a $300 million payroll to win championships, he made it clear on Wednesday that the Yanks are in position to acquire any stars they want, including Soto.
“We're in a better starting position than we were a year ago,” Steinbrenner said, via Gary Phillips of the Daily News. “There's no doubt about that. Look, year after year after year after year, payrolls similar to this year and the luxury taxes they produce are not sustainable, not feasible, and that's the case for the vast majority of owners, and maybe all of the owners.
“Doesn't mean in any given year I can't do what I want to do. I mean, we've got the ability to sign any player we want to sign.”
