MIAMI.- The general manager of the Yankees of New York, Brian Cashman, submitted his final offer for Juan Soto on Sunday morning. The deal was set to become the largest in the history of North American sports.
However, it was not long after that the renowned executive learned that it had not been enough. Scott Boras, the Dominican outfielder’s agent, called him to notify him that his client had decided to accept the proposal of the neighboring Mets instead.
Within minutes, Cashman met on a video call with Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner and team president Randy Levine to let them know that Soto had rejected the 16-year, $760 million offer.
“Hal Steinbrenner really stepped up to find a way to retain Juan Soto and I’m very proud of his efforts,” Cashman told reporters on Monday. “It certainly went above and beyond what I would have expected.”
The Mets tied up Soto with a 15-year, $765 million deal, with no deferred money. The contract also has incentives that could take its value to $805 million.
The pain of the team’s fans over the loss of Soto was soon reflected on the various social networks, where images of some fans could even be seen burning the shirt with the number 22 that the patrolman used with the Yankees in 2024.
However, while Cashman and company were counting on repeating the deadly duo of Soto and Aaron Judge at the top of their lineup next season, the team seems to have been left with the consolation that everything that could be done was done.
“I would say Hal did everything he could to try to keep Juan Soto in the pinstripes and continue to be a part of our group on the road we’re on,” Cashman reiterated. “But there are a lot of different ways you can evaluate this, and we’re just going to have to find another way to figure it out.”
