New York Yankees icon and current YES Network analyst David Cone made it known last spring that he had no problem with the fact that then-Yankees outfielder Juan Soto wanted to reach free agency following the 2024 season. Of course, Soto ultimately left the Yankees to sign a massive deal with the New York Mets.
During a recent chat with Bob Klapisch of NJ Advance Media, Cone sent quite a message to Yankees fans who are still upset that Soto will be playing home games in Queens for the foreseeable future.
“Get over it,” Cone said. “And how you get over it is just by what the Yankees are doing. You pivot.”
Specifically, the Yankees acquired multiple big names such as ace Max Fried, outfielder Cody Bellinger, closer Devin Williams and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt after team owner Hal Steinbrenner was willing to give Soto $760M over 16 years. The slugger instead signed a 15-year, $765M contract that could exceed $800M total and included a $75M signing bonus, an opt-out after five years and no deferred money to join the Mets.
“I was amazed at how far (the bidding war) went,” Cone said about Soto’s free-agency saga. “It’s really indicative of the current compensation system. You have someone like Soto, who drives everything up as far as it can go to find out what he can get in free agency.”
Much was made in December about how Mets owner Steve Cohen and his wife, Alex, won Soto’s mother over by offering the 26-year-old a suite for his family at Citi Field along with other “family services.” Cone mentioned that he “can understand why” such extra touches would appeal to a superstar athlete.
“I’ve seen it first-hand,” Cone explained. “The Cohen family, husband and wife, are dynamic. They can make you feel warm and fuzzy. I could see how Soto was going to feel that way about them.”
Only time will tell if Steinbrenner is right about the Yankees having “a better team right now than we did a year ago today” and about not caving on a suite for Soto because players such as current team captain Aaron Judge and Yankees legend Derek Jeter have previously paid for suites. With that said, history shows Yankees fans won’t react kindly if Soto helps the Mets become the New York team that next celebrates a World Series triumph.
“He’s looking for his own nest,” Cone added about Soto. “He feels warm and fuzzy with the Mets.”
