The New York Yankees are off to a great start this season with a 30-15 record sitting atop the American League East. The team has taken a complete 180 after a miserable 2023 season thanks to several key moves. The biggest of them all was trading for Juan Soto who was initially seen as a rental. However, Hal Steinbrenner is trying to change that.
On YES Network analyst Jack Curry's podcast "Yankees News & Views", he interviewed Hal Steinbrenner. On the podcast, Curry asked Steinbrenner about Juan Soto to which he responded that he wants Juan Soto to be a Yankee for life. The issue has been that Scott Boras's clients typically hit the open market.
Yankees News: Hal Steinbrenner Wants Juan Soto to Be a Yankee For Life
Yankees fanbase should be excited by Steinbrenner's public statement even if it costs the team leverage. Steinbrenner added that the team will have contract conversations in the season with Soto and Boras.
Jack Curry reached out to Scott Boras about the quotes to which Boras responded with the following:
"Always happy to talk with Hal. Juan is getting to know the Yankee organization. His singular focus is winning."Scott Boras
The public comments may cost Hal Steinbrenner more in negotiations but, the public love for Soto can only do good. Thus far, the move for Soto has been a massive success for both sides.
The Yankees will do whatever it takes to land Juan Soto this off-season but the contract offers from the teams across the league will all be in the same ballpark. What the Yankees have going for them is the fact that they get to use this year as a year-long recruiting pitch. If the Yankees have a solid year and Soto enjoys his time, then the team will be in the driver's seat to re-sign him.