NEW YORK — On Tuesday, the two billionaires at the center of Major League Baseball ’s biggest offseason free-agent chase stood across from each other at a dinner marking the first night of the owners’ meetings in Manhattan. But New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner and Steve Cohen, his New York Mets rival, didn’t quite argue over who should get to drop a bag of cash in front of star slugger Juan Soto. Instead, much of the conversation between the longtime acquaintances centered around the Yankees’ loss in the World Series, and how much it still “stings” for Steinbrenner.
Advertisement “That was about it,” Steinbrenner said. Yet the specter of Cohen — baseball’s richest owner — possibly swooping in and swiping Soto from the Yankees was the biggest topic of conversation when Steinbrenner spoke with reporters for approximately 15 minutes in the lobby of MLB headquarters Wednesday afternoon. If Soto doesn’t re-sign with the Yankees, will it hurt even more if he opts for a crosstown move and the Mets’ big bucks? “If it doesn’t work out,” Steinbrenner said, “it’s going to hurt a little bit no matter where he goes.
” Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner meeting with reporters at the MLB Owners Meetings today. Juan Soto, expectedly, was the hot topic of conversation. pic.
twitter.com/24wynEMJ42 — Brendan Kuty 🧟♂️ (@BrendanKutyNJ) November 20, 2024 The Athletic ’s Tim Britton projected that Soto, 26, could command a deal worth $611 milli.