After losing out on Juan Soto, Yankees exec Brian Cashman “reaffirms commitment to strong payroll” with offseason signings

The New York Yankees reportedly offered Juan Soto a lucrative contract, but it wasn't enough to convince him to stay. He opted for the contract that was one year shorter and $5 million more expensive from the crosstown New York Mets.

The Yankees are not often outbid for a star free agent, especially one they had in-house. They are also not often outbid by the Mets, a team often seen as the little brother.

One thing was clear, to a certain historically high point, the Yankees were willing to spend on Soto. And even after they missed out, Yankees executive Brian Cashman said the team dedicated a lot of salary to other players to fill the void left by Soto:

"This winter's efforts - whether it was to retain Juan Soto or the players we pursued and secured via trade or free agency showed it costs money to get some of those guys imported in here... We reaffirm our commitment to the strong payroll and have a quality team our fans can be proud of and believe in."

Losing Soto meant the Yankees saved almost $48 million in yearly salary, and they spent a lot of that on adding other players. They signed Max Fried and Paul Goldschmidt.

The Yankees traded for Cody Bellinger and Devin Williams. Despite not adding a $760 million contract, they're poised to have the fourth-highest payroll in baseball.

---

MLB insider praises Yankees offseason despite losing Juan Soto

Despite going after and losing out on the biggest free agent in the 2025 class, the New York Yankees still had a good offseason in one MLB insider's eyes. No Juan Soto, but the team may be more well-rounded heading into 2025.

Juan Soto left the Yankees (Imagn)

SI's Ryan Phillips said:

"While fans lament the loss of Soto and bemoan the lack of high-level spending, the Yankees have followed up their World Series loss to the Dodgers with a solid offseason."

He noted the additions of Max Fried, who is "as consistent" as anyone in baseball, Devin Williams, "baseball's best reliever," Cody Bellinger, and Paul Goldschmidt as big reasons why the Yankees are better now. Phillips believes there's more work to do, but the Yankees are in a better place now.