DALLAS — Juan Soto was a top priority for the Yankees.
According to reports, they were prepared to spend a record-breaking $760 million over 16 years to keep the talented outfielder in pinstripes.
Together with the opportunity to continue hitting in front of Aaron Judge and rejoin a team that advanced to the World Series the previous season, that works out to $47.5 million annually.
Give some credit to Hal Steinbrenner, the owner of the Yankees, in that regard. Yes, they failed to retain Soto, but their offer was better than expected. The contract they offered Judge two winters ago ($360 million over nine years) is more than doubled. With other voids scattered across their roster, they went for it, offering a deal that would have reduced their financial freedom.
However, when it came down to the money, it wasn’t good enough in a sweepstakes.
In order to bring his skills to Queens, Soto agreed to a $765 million, 15-year contract with the Mets on Sunday night. The Yankees were “in the lead for Soto all through the process,” according to SNY’s Andy Martino, but Steve Cohen, the owner of the Mets, “came from the top rope very late and got it done.” He would not be sent away. At least not by the dollars.
Both the overall sum and the current average annual value are more than Shohei Ohtani’s record, making it the most deal in professional sports ever for Soto. Soto’s contract has no deferrals, in contrast to Ohtani’s $700 million pact with the Dodgers. In addition to a $75 million signing bonus, the 26-year-old outfielder had the option to opt out after five years.
It was widely believed in the industry that Cohen would defeat all other high-spending competitors in the Soto sweepstakes, but the Yankees were in the same ballpark. If these last offers were this close, you had to ask how much he really wanted to stay in the Bronx. The annual difference is a mere $3.5 million.
According to Jorge Castillo of ESPN, it helps that Soto may get a $4 million raise from the Mets each season if he doesn’t exercise his opt-out, going from $51 million to $55 million for the remainder of his deal. As a result, the acquisition might total more than $800 million. In any case, Soto accepted the higher and larger offer. That might have been his original plan.
The attention is now once again on Steinbrenner.
What percentage of that contract, divided among a few key players, is he willing to spend? The Yankees must move swiftly to address a number of areas before the next-best choices are taken off the market because they know they have work to do.