Yankees 'proud' of efforts to keep Soto, don't regret trade - ESPN

DALLAS — On Sunday morning, sometime between 9:30 and 10 a.m., New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman submitted the organization's final contract offer for Juan Soto. It would've been, by far, the richest deal in North American professional sports history.

He soon found out it wasn't enough. That night, Scott Boras, Soto's agent, called to tell him his client had agreed to sign with the New York Mets.

Cashman then hopped on a conference call with Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner and president Randy Levine to break the news that Soto had decided to turn down the Yankees' 16-year, $760 million offer for a slightly richer deal in Queens.

«Hal Steinbrenner really stepped up to find a way to retain Juan Soto, and I'm certainly proud of his efforts,» Cashman said Monday. «Certainly went well beyond what I would have expected.»

Cashman spoke to reporters Monday at the Hilton Anatole, site of this year's winter meetings. A few minutes later, at the other end of the hotel, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns declined to discuss Soto because the agreement was not yet official.

The Mets and Soto agreed Sunday to a 15-year, $765 million deal without deferrals and with escalators that could carry the total to $805 million, sources told ESPN. It will surpass the record $700 million deal Shohei Ohtani signed just a year ago — in total value and average annual value. The Yankees' offer, which also didn't include deferrals, would have, too.

«I would just say Hal went above and beyond to try to find a way to keep Juan Soto in pinstripes and continue to keep him a part of our mix as we move forward and take our shot,» Cashman said. «But there's a lot of different ways to figure this thing out, and so we're just going