Hal Steinbrenner says that the New York Yankees are “not done yet.” The Yankees signed Aaron Judge to a 9-year, $360 million contract, and they also signed Carlos Rodon to a 6-year, $162 million deal. Hal Steinbrenner has made it clear that the Yankees are ready to sign more players to strengthen the team and build what he hopes will be the team’s first World Series team since 2009.
“I’m not going to talk about specifics, but I do have a kind of a place I want to land,” he said. “Whether we’re there or not, I’m not going to get into that. But all I can tell you is we’re not done yet. I’d be surprised. We’re continuing to look.”
George Steinbrenner took over the New York Yankees in 1973 and changed the baseball landscape forever with his big spending moves. Since then, the team has used its money to show off to the rest of the MLB. Now under George’s son, Hal Steinbrenner, they have had the highest payroll in the league for a long time. But it looks like the other New York team, the New York Mets, is slowly catching up to the Yankees’ wasteful spending thanks to owner Steve Cohen.
However, Hal Steinbrenner is determined to maintain the Yankees as the MLB’s premier team.
The Yankees went all out on Wednesday to make Aaron Judge’s official return an event, and they made sure it would be much more than just a party for a $360 million free agent signing. The best part of this party was that their 16th captain was the reigning Most Valuable Player in the American League and the new single-season home run champion.
Judge knew it was coming, but he didn’t know that a very special guest would be at the press conference. Derek Jeter, the last Yankees captain, was flown in by Hal Steinbrenner to take part in this big day for the team. The Yankees even had cookies with the number 99 on them and cupcakes with icing, which was a great way to celebrate Judge’s home run.
All of that, plus the most important baseball news Wednesday was made in a place that isn’t the Bronx. While the San Francisco Giants hesitated to sign off on their backup plan in case they didn’t get Judge, the Mets swooped in and made a quick late-night deal to steal Carlos Correa. Steve Cohen must be a big hit with Mets fans. When he bought the team for $2.5 billion in November 2020, the 16-times-over billionaire said he would spend as much as it takes to bring a World Series to Queens, and he is trying.
Hal Steinbrenner has had a great offseason so far, signing four free agents for a total of $573.5 million. Cohen, on the other hand, has spent up to $806 million just on free-agent signings in Queens. The Mets signed Carlos Correa, Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, and others to lucrative deals. They also brought back Edwin Diaz and Brandon Nimmo. Hal Steinbrenner isn’t upset about this because he knows that this kind of dedication to winning is a must, even though he did warn about how it could change the balance of the league.
Hal Steinbrenner is all about Yankees
Hal Steinbrenner was talking to a group of writers when Joel Sherman of the New York Post told him that the Mets did better than the Yankees.
“That sounds ugly,” Steinbrenner shot back. “What does that even mean?”
The owner was told that the Yankees are “the other news in New York today,” but he acted like it didn’t bother him in the least how much money his rivals across the street are spending.
“Look, Steve’s put together a great team,” Hal Steinbrenner said. “We have a great team, too. So it doesn’t bother me. The timing is what it is. I’m focused on today. All I know is our Yankees fans are very excited today.”
That must be true. Most fans are probably glad that the Yankees matched the Giants’ offer of $360 million and re-sign Aaron Judge. They’re also probably thrilled that the Yankees signed Rodon, which gives them what looks like on paper to be the best rotation in the game.
But now that Judge and Rodon are signed, Yankees fans want more, and Hal Steinbrenner seems ready to give them what they want most: a left-handed bat for left field.
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