Hal Steinbrenner addresses Yankees' payroll, possibly losing Juan Soto to Mets

By most accounts, New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner and New York Mets owner Steve Cohen will soon engage in a bidding war over the services of Juan Soto. 

While speaking with reporters such as Newsday's Tim Healey on Wednesday, Steinbrenner was asked if losing Soto to the Mets would be a particularly painful blow considering the clubs are crosstown rivals. 

No," Steinbrenner responded, as shared by the SNY website. "As I said, we’re going to be in the mix for Soto. If it doesn’t work out, it’s going to hurt a little bit no matter where he goes."

Earlier this week, Yankees announcer Michael Kay suggested that Cohen could outbid Steinbrenner by up to "$50M" to win the Soto sweepstakes. Considering Steinbrenner said this past spring his club's payroll was "not sustainable" due to luxury-tax penalties, some fans understandably may have assumed the Yankees left Monday's sit-down meeting with Soto's camp hoping the All-Star outfielder would offer the storied club a discount after he helped the Bronx Bombers reach this year's World Series. 

"We're in a better starting position than we were a year ago," Steinbrenner said Wednesday about the Yankees' payroll. "There's no doubt about that. Look, year after year after year after year, payrolls similar to this year and the luxury taxes they produce are not sustainable, not feasible, and that's the case for the vast majority of owners, and maybe all of the owners. Doesn't mean in any given year I can't do what I want to do. I mean, we've got the ability to sign any player we want to sign."

Steinbrenner reportedly convinced Aaron Judge to accept less guaranteed money than what was offered by the San Diego Padres to re-sign with the Yankees in late 2022. Judge wanted to become the 16th captain in Yankees history and stay with what had been his only MLB home, but there's no indication Soto will walk away from a significant amount of money to sign with any club this fall. 

"I’ve got ears," Steinbrenner said about the main offseason demand voiced by Yankees fans since the club fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. "I know what’s expected of me." 

Steinbrenner saying the Yankees can "sign any player we want to sign" hints he could eventually insist he simply didn't "want" to spend what Cohen or a different owner wanted to spend on one player, even one as proven and as young as Soto.