New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner isn’t sure if the team will be able to re-sign Juan Soto in free agency.
Soto is the top free agent available and the Yankees are one of several teams who are interested in the star outfielder. The outfielder is meeting with teams and although Steinbrenner said it was a ‘good meeting’ that included ‘very honest back-and-forth dialogue,’ he isn’t sure if they will be able to re-sign Soto.
“No idea,” Steinbrenner said when asked if he was confident the team would re-sign Soto. “We’ll be in the mix. I’ll leave it at that.”
Although Steinbrenner isn’t sure if the Yankees will re-sign Soto, he hopes that is the case. He also says re-signing Soto is a priority for the Yankees.
“Our fans really enjoyed having him in New York,” Steinbrenner said. “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. So, look, it’s been a priority. We wouldn’t have gone out to the West Coast if it wasn’t.”
Soto hit .288 with 41 home runs and 109 RBIs with the Yankees in 2024.
Yankees Owner Says Team is in a Good Spot in Offseason
The Yankees are always one of the highest-spending teams in MLB, and Steinbrenner expects that to be the case in 2025.
Steinbrenner says New York has room to spend this offseason and says they are in a better spot than they were last year.
“We’re in a better starting position than we were a year ago. There’s no doubt about that,” Steinbrenner said. “Look, year after year after year after year, payrolls similar to this year and the luxury taxes they produce are not sustainable. That’s the case for the vast majority of owners, maybe all of them. Year after year after year — it 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.”
New York has over $234 million in projected salaries in 2025 before even signing a free agent, according to Spotrac.
Yankees Manager Would ‘Love’ to Have Soto Back
Part of the meetings with Soto was manager Aaron Boone who had his contract picked up for 2025.
Soto was a key part of Boone’s lineup in 2024 and he says he’d love for the star outfielder to be back in 2025.
“As I’ve said all year, what Juan did for us between the lines was pretty special, and [he] put together a remarkable season,” Boone said. “But equally, I was just impressed with the person. Really getting to know him and getting to manage him was a pleasure. I certainly would love to have him back, obviously. I want him in pinstripes moving forward. But you also know there’s going to be a lot of people competing for that, and who knows where it ends up?”
Boone said he planned to have an honest conversation with Soto about him as a player and how he envisioned using him further if he remained with the Yankees.
As for Boone, he’s been the Yankees manager since 2018 leading the team to a record of 603-429.
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