At long last, this auction will have reached its knockout round.
In recent weeks, owners such as Hal Steinbrenner cuddled-up to Soto and his fiscal overlord, Scott Boras, seeking to sell the two future Hall of Famers on loyalty and tradition... a/k/a bullshit.
But sometime this week, Mets owner Steve Cohen is expected to hand Boras a check that says, basically, "$50 million above all others," with maybe a $10 million handshake sweetener. From there, the auction will start and finish.
Steinbrenner has consistently promoted the Yankees' sincerity, his way of poormouthing. In that respect, Cohen has already won.
If/when the Mets sign Soto, it will be their hardest crosstown gut punch in this millennium, far beyond signing Luis Severino and Harrison Bader. It will mean the Mets enter 2025 with NYC's biggest attraction and best team - (they arguably finished 2024 that way) - with all of Gotham polarized over Soto.
Cohen will have achieved his goal: Bagging the star whom every NY fan loves or hates. And Boras will have what he wanted: the biggest number on the check.
Honestly, neither Boras nor Soto have ever suggested they'd do otherwise. They were always going with the highest number, not the owner who made the nicest speech.
I suppose there is a chance that Hal rises to the occasion, equaling or outbidding Cohen. It's only money. Maybe Brian Cashman can cook up numbers that convince Hal to pay up.
But I cannot see why anyone should expect this.
Cohen has been moving in this direction since 2020, when he bought the Mets for $2.4 billion and never even flinched. Humanity will soon enter the era of trillionaires, which means a few players will be billionaires. There are no guardrails here, no connections to everyday people. Besides, next year, right around now, there will be another Soto. You wait and see. We will be having this same fake debate: Can the Yankees afford him? (When we all know the answer is yes.)
If they fail on Soto, the Yankees will have other options. Theoretically, it would mean Cashman has $60 million to spend. That said, the Plan B's - Santander, Bregman, Alonzo - aren't headed for Cooperstown. And New York City won't suddenly stop whenever they come to bat.
For months, we heard how the U.S. Presidential election would likely take weeks to be decided, for all the votes to be counted. And then it was over by midnight. Don't be surprised if the same happens here. Once the numbers are floated, it shouldn't take long.
Soto is great. $60 million x 10 years is one heck of a lot of dough. He's only 25. Is he going to be the player @ age 31-32-33-34-etc that he is now? Will he become injured at some point, replicating for us Ellsbury Disease? Will that $$$ spent on him mean that NYY pitching will be sour for years (as the minor league pitchers seem to offer little in the way of promise)...?
ReplyDeleteRemember that TV commercial for beer in which Billy Martin said "I feel very strongly both ways?" .....
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DeleteThe old Miller Liter commercials were so good, and the new ones are so bad.
DeleteNever try to replace one player with talent with three players with none.
ReplyDeleteJoe brings up a lot of good points. I think you can make a pretty good case for grabbing Santander instead of Soto. A few years older, but also coming off a career year, at least homer-wise. He's a good defender and doesn't make stupid baserunning mistakes. Bonus: Michael Kay has to pronounce his name during every game, which he seems to find slightly challenging.
ReplyDeleteAnd, if I remember correctly, he isn't injury-prone. Which is good.
I don't really see how we can go into the season with Soto in right and Jas'son in left. Man, that's a lot of missed and poorly judged flies. Does Judge stay in center, then? Does the Martian go out there? Where does Judge go, back to right? Then who's in left? That's a big left field.
We need competent defense all the way around. That can win more games than the occasional late-inning blast. If your pitching and defense is good enough, you very, very rarely need an occasional late-inning blast.
Of course, that would still leave infield defense and pitching that need shoring up. I'd guess Hal and Brain don't address those except in a half-assed fashion. Like last year. And previous years. So, as Jesse Jackson famously said, the point...is moot. Soto or not, I don't have much confidence in this front office, or the team they assemble.
It doesn't matter - NONE of this matters - because Hal is not going to hand over the cash. After the Mets sign him, Brian is free to do what he does best: make horrible dumpster acquisitions and talk them up like they are the second coming of Babe Ruth. Same old trick, year after year. La plus qui change...
ReplyDeleteDing ding ding ding ding! I think we have a winner!
DeleteI have already accepted the fact that Soto was a one year rental that cashman failed to capitalize upon. Would prefer he not sign with the Mets so we don’t have to hear the endless chatter, but that does seem to be the likely landing spot. We will sorely miss him over the next few years, but he will eventually morph into a DH-only type and ultimately into winner of of the
ReplyDeleteGiancarlo Stanton legacy award. I just wish we could count on cashman to do the next best thing and retool the team with other options but that won’t happen while the team is in thrall to the prevarications of analytics.
BTR, acceptance is the key to all of our problems. I am now a happy man because my eyes are open. Everything is just great. I am part of a big Yankee family and we win all the time. Nobody is better. We don’t need a World Series title to be the best. We are just the best because we are the Yankees. God bless Hal and Brian And Mr. Boone. I am so lucky that I was born a Yankee fan. Nobody really could ever do it better than these guys.
ReplyDeleteThe Mets are already good, maybe Soto gets them over the hump. The Yankees though have too many holes - 1B, 3B, Rodon/Cortes, 2B, we're short an outfielder. Soto got us close but it was through the path of least resistance (Orioles stank up the league, AL Central in the playoffs, Dodgers' pitchers all on the IL) and we can't assume things will break the same next season.
ReplyDeleteWhat I read this morning from Bob Nightengale:
"If the New York Yankees don’t re-sign Juan Soto, one back-up plan floating around is signing free-agent first baseman Christian Walker, sign either Willy Adames or Alex Bregman to play third, shift Jazz Chisholm to second base, trade for Cubs center fielder Cody Bellinger, and then use the extra money to sign Burnes, Fried or Snell."
Except for the Bellinger part that's not too bad. Replace two players who didn't hit at all with two who did, put an actual third baseman at third, replace the emotional trainwreck #2 starter with Fried/Burnes/Snell - crosses off a few needs.
All hope is not lost if Soto leaves Hal at the altar and runs out to the bus with Cohen. Of course that's if the Yankees spend the money. Big IF.
Santander is also a good choice, imo. Though not a center fielder, which complicates things a bit.
DeleteI'm telling' you guys, all the "back-up" plans are floating around mostly in the heads of various sportswriters. There is zero indication that Hal & Pal are considering any of this—and no examples of them having done this successfully beforehand. Yes, Soto is a risk. So are all those other guys (we probably won't get).
ReplyDeleteThe best argument on our side—and probably the only one—is the Los Angeles Dodgers. If Juan Soto really wants to play in the World Series a lot, he has got to look at that team and know it could be years before the Mets get past them. Not to mention the Braves and the Phillies.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who wants Soto will have to pony up 600 million or better. (40M+ x 15 years). That's the price of admission. And at least 3 or 4 teams will ante up. Snagging Soto? that will require a lot more.
ReplyDeleteI take his probing discussion of player development and leadership commitment to producing championship after championship very seriously. He wants to go to the WS year after year and glide into the Hall on the 1st ballot. Other teams may be able to BS him. One team (the Dodgers) can show him their resume.
But the Yankees? He's been there a year. He knows how screwed up the team is. He knows they can't develop players. He got the chance to eyeball Hal, Brian and Randy. If he wondered why the things that went wrong for the Yankees, sitting at the table with these clowns should clear his head and answer any remaining questions regarding the Yankees and who the best team really is.
The Dodgers.