Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner sets meeting with Juan Soto, Scott Boras
One day after New York Mets owner Steve Cohen arranged a meeting next week with superstar free-agent outfielder Juan Soto and his agent, Scott Boras, New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner wasted no time in setting up his own trip to California.
Steinbrenner is scheduled to visit Southern California, where Boras' headquarters are located, a league source confirmed to The Athletic. The New York Post was first to report Steinbrenner's upcoming visit. Which day Steinbrenner will fly to the West Coast is unknown, but it will take place after the Mets' visit. Earlier this week, Boras explained that Soto wants to meet with team owners face-to-face to gauge their views on his value in the marketplace and hear their plans for building a consistent winner around him.
"This is about owner commitment," Boras said. "It's about showing Juan Soto that his goals of winning — and winning consistently — will be met, because that's what makes the game enjoyable for him."
While it's unclear whether Steinbrenner deliberately timed his visit to follow Cohen's, the timing certainly works to the Yankees' advantage. Steinbrenner's trip will provide him an opportunity to get a sense of Cohen's intentions, which could be crucial in Soto's decision-making process. It's still expected that Soto will take his time before signing, as Boras indicated his client is in no rush to commit to a long-term deal.
"Juan knows who the Yankees are, and he's certainly impressed," Boras said. "He went to the World Series with them, which is a tremendous accomplishment. But to truly understand what ownership thinks and what the Yankees' future plans are, any player in his situation would want to hear about that. And with the respect he has for the New York Yankees, I know he'll want to be thorough in this process."
Given the enormous financial commitment expected in Soto's contract, Steinbrenner will likely take a lead role in the negotiation — a position he's familiar with. Two years ago, he personally spearheaded the effort to re-sign Aaron Judge in free agency, despite some hesitation from other decision makers within the organization about offering the Yankees' captain a ninth year.
And with the possibility of this being a showdown between Steinbrenner and Cohen, it'll be the first true head-to-head battle of this magnitude between the two New York owners since both took over their respective organizations.
(Top photo of Juan Soto: Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via )
