The Juan Soto sweepstakes are on fire between two New York teams. On one hand, we have the New York Mets with Steve Cohen—the team with the most financial muscle. And on the other, there’s the New York Yankees and Hal Steinbrenner, who have been flexing their finances over the decades now. Given that Cohen is ready to spend an arm and a leg for Soto, one would expect Steinbrenner to do the same.

Well, instead, the Yankee owner has been giving mixed signals. While Hal did mention that the Yankees have what it takes to sign Juan Soto, he also discredited the statement, mentioning that the payroll issues and luxury tax take a toll—two takes completely in stark contrast. Moreover, when Hal Steinbrenner spoke to the media on Wednesday about Juan Soto’s free agency, he mentioned, “No idea”—not the answer fans would expect now. And it seems like an ex-MLB president has some advice for him!

David Samson hands over a PR script to the New York Yankees

Samson was almost taken aback when he heard Hal Steinbrenner’s answer for Soto’s free agency. After all, this isn’t the best way to make an impression, not to the fans or Juan Soto. Moreover, Hal is a professional with years of experience handling the off-season, so it’s unexpected coming from him. Samson mentioned that he has a better answer: “Our plan is to have Juan Soto returned; it’s obviously up to him and his representative, but I know that our offer was not just competitive; we expect it to be the highest. We also expect to perform for him because it’s New York and it is the Yankees. Not sure we have to sell him on any of that.”

“But I assure you if Juan Soto goes in a different direction, we will be ready, and we will pivot, making sure to fill the team to get us back in the world series and this time win it,” he further added. Well, maybe the Yankee representative or even Hal Steinbrenner could use this. But for Yankee fans, it’s not all that bad either, because as for the meeting with Soto, well, Steinbrenner may have aced that!

Did Hal win over Juan Soto?

While Hal Steinbrenner’s answer to the media might seem weird to David Samson and Yankee fans, his face-to-face meeting with Soto went stellar. Soto walked away, “feeling better” about the Yankees’ owner. Bob Klapisch of NJ Advance Media described the Yankees as “encouraged” by the meeting. Meanwhile, Jon Heyman of the New York Post said that Hal made a great pitch, highlighting the franchise’s revenue, tradition, and brand power. And it gets way more interesting!

As per Heyman, a friend of Soto said that the superstar was looking for the same rapport he had with his previous team owners anywhere he went. However, it seems like Steinbrenner wasn’t all that open during Soto’s first year at the Yankees. To sort out any bitterness, Steinbrenner made it clear to Juan Soto in the meeting that it was not a sign of ignorance, but he was giving Soto his space.

Later, Steinbrenner said, “I made it clear that I want the kind of relationship I have with Gerrit Cole and Aaron Judge.” Well, it seems like that made quite the impression. Now, adding more fuel to the fire that Soto might choose to be in pinstripes is Soto’s unusual Instagram activities, which all seem Yankee-pro!