Does Gerrit Cole agree with Hal Steinbrenner about post-Juan Soto Yankees?

While New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner allegedly believes the club's offseason moves have it in a better place today than where it was a year ago when All-Star outfielder Juan Soto was on the roster, Yankees manager Aaron Boone wasn't willing to echo Steinbrenner earlier this week. 

On Wednesday, Yankees ace Gerrit Cole was asked about his take on the subject. 

"Juan will be missed to a certain extent," Cole acknowledged, as shared by Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. "But the beauty of the Yankees is the ability to go out and fill the roster and fill the spots with the goal of getting back to the World Series and winning the World Series, and they’ve done about as good a job as I think you could have asked."

Specifically, Yankees senior vice president and general manager Brian Cashman quickly pivoted once it became clear that Soto would choose the New York Mets in free agency. Cashman ultimately bolstered the starting rotation by signing elite starter Max Fried, landed one of the best closers in the game in Devin Williams and also acquired outfielder Cody Bellinger and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.

"I think we feel very confident in the additions that we’ve made," Cole continued. "It’s hard not to say that those additions haven’t made us better coming from the fact that after we lost Juan and then we made those additions. It’s big shoes to fill, but you’ve got to be proud of the organization for what they’ve done and you’ve got to be excited about the additions that are here because these are all really great players and really great people as well." 

Of course, it's worth noting that Steinbrenner went further than many thought he'd go in an attempt to keep Soto in pinstripes. Steinbrenner's final offer was $760M over 16 years, but Soto accepted a 15-year, $765M contract that reportedly could exceed $800M total and included a $75M signing bonus, an opt-out after five years and no deferred money to make the move to Queens.

"Very large amount of money," Cole said about Soto's deal. "But it’s hard to underestimate great players...It is a large number. It’s a historic contract. It’s good for all players. It’s good for the game." 

Whether or not that historic agreement will have any impact on the Yankees come October shall be seen.