Cashman: Yankees went 'beyond' comfort level with Soto offer

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman feels his organization went as far as it possibly could to try and retain Juan Soto this winter.

"We went above and beyond what our comfort level was," Cashman said of negotiations the day after the superstar reportedly signed a record contract with the New York Mets, according to Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record.

The Mets lured Soto to Flushing with a historic 15-year, $765-million contract offer that came together Sunday. The Yankees' final offer topped out at $760 million over 16 years, with a $47.5-million average annual value, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported. The Yanks' AAV ended up being $4.5 million below what Soto will earn annually across town.

Cashman traded five players to the San Diego Padres for Soto last December in hopes that he'd have a head start on negotiating an extension with the four-time All-Star. The 26-year-old proved a natural fit alongside Aaron Judge in the Yankees' lineup and was integral to the club's first pennant in 15 years.

"It's not a deal we regret. He impacted us in a heavy way," Cashman said, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. "I'm just sorry we fell short in the World Series."

But to the shock of those in the Bronx, the union ended up being a one-year wonder. Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner met with Soto in July, but Soto decided to not discuss an extension at that time, Hoch reports. Soto and Steinbrenner both had hopes of cultivating a deeper relationship, but the owner kept his distance in order to not be a distraction, sources told The Athletic's Patrick Mooney, Will Sammon, Brendan Kuty, and Ken Rosenthal.

"I would say Hal went above and beyond to try to find a way to keep Juan Soto in pinstripes," Cashman said, per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic.

With Soto now gone, the Yankees are moving quickly to pivot. The sudden opening in right field will be filled by Judge, with rookie Jasson Domínguez a front-runner to take over center field, Cashman said. They also have holes in left field and both corner infield spots and could use some more pitching help.

Some of those upgrades can still be found in free agency, and Cashman hinted that he'll continue to push for big signings now that Soto's off the board. However, he also cautioned that the Yankees won't be writing any checks just for the sake of it.

"We're not going to be (spending like) drunken sailors," he said, according to Newsday's Erik Boland.