Hal Steinbrenner talks 2024 Yankees, roster upgrades, Juan Soto’s long-term outlook and more

Hal Steinbrenner met with the media at Yankees camp on Thursday to discuss the state of the team heading into a new season as the Bombers look to put 2023 behind them and contend for a World Series championship. Subscribe for daily sports videos!

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Uh you’ve been out on the field quite a few times here at the start of things I know we’re still early here in spring training but what’s your first impression of this 2024 Squad so far uh I’m excited I think um these guys really believe they have something to prove and

They’re ready to do it um I will tell you we had a large number of guys the entire month of January over at the heims complex voluntarily working out getting in shape ramping it up um more so than I ever remember and I don’t think it’s a coincidence I think they’re

Really ready to go h a couple of your players have Hi H um talked about how embarrassed they were last year and how that motivated a lot of them to you know show up really at the complex Etc organizationally how much of a motivator was that for you guys I was embarrassed

We were all embarrassed I mean I only there’s one person in this organization that wasn’t embarrassed um I have no doubt for them that it was a big motivation um you know like I said they believe they have something to prove after that disaster last year uh and

They’re going to be I mean look at look at some of the guys I mean they just they’re already in great shape a lot of them because their spring training started you know six weeks ago uh in Earnest almost every day they were there so um we take it seriously last year was

An embarrassment we’re all embarrassed in your mind why will things be different this year I just think it’s a different mindset I think to his comment I think they really I don’t want to keep repeating myself mer but that they I just tell you they feel like they have something to prove

To the fans because they know they let the fans down it was embarrassing and it was embarrassing for everyone you guys made a bunch of moves over the offseason the luxury tax payrolls already over the highest threshold do you feel like you have something to prove to fans with the

Way this offseason’s gone I think we have something to prove to fans after last year absolutely no doubt when you look back on last season and evaluate it with some hindsight what do you think went wrong well look clearly we had a lot of injuries that’s all teams have

Injuries we had you know not the most in baseball perhaps maybe I don’t know I didn’t look but we had a lot but the position players I mean too many of our good position players just did not play up to their potential we we couldn’t

Score runs and we had a near zero run differential the entire year and you’re not going to win a World Series with that you’re just not now what do you think Juan stto adds to this team and do you think you can keep him long term

Well I I don’t want to get too much into that because you know that’s he just got here and I just met him two days ago um he’s he’s going to mean a lot um I got to talk to him briefly on the field very intelligent young man and obviously very

Motivated and very successful already um already a world champion and uh already has just went right into the clubhouse and fit right in so I think he’s going to be great and uh you know seeing him and judge and Stanton 2 three4 whatever the order in the lineup uh it’s going to

Be pretty special there still do you think that you have enough on this roster are you inclined to keep looking adding some free agent out there still looking for work I think we have a championship caliber team right now but we haven’t stopped looking to improve

And we never will I mean you know we’re able to do whatever we’re able to do all the way up to the trade deadline that’s a long time from now so what’s your feeling about snow I’m not going to get into free agents I’m just going to tell

You that we continue to look at a lot of different options um and you know given where we are payroll wise any addition to the club is going to be a costly one but I’m still willing to consider anything that comes my way anything cash in his team

Brings my way I I’ll leave it at that but we are not done trying to improve this team should shouldn’t take a $300 million payroll to to win a championship I still agree with that yes push you over the edge well we didn’t have a whole lot of money come off the payroll

I think we started this offseason at 250 right around 245 250 so it’s not going to take you know not going to take much to get up to 300 so do you feel like you have enough pitching right now I think our starting rotation is very good yes

Uh depth injuries you know we we lost king and you know we lost some pitchers in the stto trade and um that’s why you know a lot of the other trades we were looking at there everybody seemed to want guys like Warren and Hampton and I

Just wasn’t willing to to part with them um so the depth is somewhat concerning to me but the rotation as it stands is a very good one and you know we still have Warren at triaa at some point you’re going to see him this year probably uh

Luis Hill and a few others you through your thinking on the soda trade you know obviously it was a big price to pay why did you say yes oh I I I mean he’s generational player I mean I I you know how the opportunity arose where the

Padres needed certain things that we had and I don’t know how you can say no if if you’re able to do it financially um and able and willing to give up what they’re asking for which was not easy for me to give up those guys um but I

Don’t know how you could say no if both those things are possible to get a player like that even if it is for one year hopefully it’s not um but that’s not something I was going to say no to if both those factors fell into place there’s still things we’re looking at

You know whether it’s trades or signings uh I’m not saying anything’s going to happen I’m not saying something’s not going to happen um but I’m I’m still willing to improve this team however we can why why so is it last year that’s really motivated you to be so throttled

Down as far as that mindset because I know you’ve been leery of it at least in the past of going well look again we didn’t have much money come off last year so when you start the postseason at 250 you know I start the offseason at 250 it doesn’t take much to start

Working your way up do I think I should have a $300 million team to win a world championship no I don’t but again we we started at a pretty high level already um and you know Soda was a was a big addition but big dollars as well to

Retain soda it’s probably going to cost more than what you gave judge last off season are you comfortable paying someone more than your captain you know that’s I I guess that’s an interesting question but not one I’ve I’ve thought about um I’m not sure judge would care

If we got Juan SoDo for for many years to come um but look the market is what the market is and he’s going to he’s going to cost what he cost we just have to wait and see sorry yeah was that something you considered with your offer to Yamamoto with regards to

Garrett uh no I wouldn’t I wouldn’t say that I mean I just think you know sooner or later as all of you know in these things you’ve got to go pencils down right I mean and I probably went higher than some of our baseball people would

Have gone but I felt it was important to the fan base and to our chances this year to really make a run and and try to get them uh but I just felt you know 300 million I I just felt right or wrong that the bidding was going to continue

And I you know 300 million was a very good offer and I think a lot of our fans agree with that is there anything ongoing right now that’s close you said that you’re willing to do anything that that cash comes to you with or consider it is there anything in front of you

Right now that you are considering I well we’re looking at possibilities is there anything that’s close I would not say there’s anything that’s close no and I would also reiterate what I said earlier which is you know we we’ve already given up some very good prospects and the major league are in

King this year and um you know I’m going to be very hesitant to give up um the kind of guys like Warren and Hampton and Spencer Jones that have been asked about a lot well forgive me for repeating that but every 24 hours is’s a fresh rumor

That you guys are about to sign snow I mean it seems not going to not going to get into any any specific players not going to get any specific players does it affect your thinking when Aaron judge says he thinks and hopes the team will

Continue to add well he and I talk about it but he also understands where I sit and the decisions I have to make and the reasons I have to make or not make those decisions so we have a very good relationship KN that it might just just

Be one year of Soo and given that how much you had to give up to get him does that up the the thinking of of adding to this year’s roster I no no um I want to add add to this year’s roster if if the opportunity arises because we are always going to

Continue to try to improve no team’s perfect right there’s no perfect team um so there’s always work to be done and you know opening day is not pencils down right I mean you know August 1st or whatever the date is is pencils down so we got a lot of time during the season

If we have a need to to fill it and we’re going to just keep exploring possibilities and considering things as we always do every year um as the days and weeks progress from impressions of your meetings with Yamamoto if you offered 325 million do you think it

Would have made a difference I that’s pure hypothetical I I don’t know I honestly don’t know I don’t know I don’t know was it too much for you to consider 325 I I felt the 300 was a very very good offer how disappointed were you

That it didn’t go that way I mean what reports were yeah we we were disappointed we had a great meeting with him he’s a great young man um and obviously a great player um but again for a player that’s never played in the major leagues before

That’s a lot of money and sooner or later you have to you have to have a limit you have to have a limit because of circumstances like that you said at the start of this I think we have a championship caliber team right now that being said then where would those

Additions potentially to improve the team well I don’t think you’re going to have enough pitching you know whether it’s Bullpen or starter um look we got a great infield we got a great Outfield I mean I it’s I don’t think you could ever have enough pitching and I say that

Every year because somebody asked me the question every year but um you know what remains we’ll see what remains to be done or not done I know you don’t want to talk about individual players would you talk about individual agents have you talked to Scott fors recently I will

Not talk about individual agents but I I I have I have talked to certain agents recently yes and and obviously any agent that wants to reach out to Cashman cashman’s phone is is always on and he’s great about talking to anybody who wants to talk to are you surprised that a

Handful of his guys guys are still free agents I I haven’t pondered that to be honest with you I mean they’re they’re all incredibly talented guys and I’m sure they’re going to land somewhere eventually and um you know it is what it is but I haven’t really pondered whether

Or not I’m surprised or not seems like every year there’s guys still around this time of year but definitely some high-profile guys I get your point there’s there’s a lot of uncertainty around RSN Sor around RSN elsewhere I know you guys are in a different situation but is that something that

Look into the future concerns you the model I I don’t I don’t want to get into baseball economics about RSN all that I’m really here just to talk about the season and all that but um look I I I I think Rob’s made it pretty clear it’s a

Concerning situation but he’s all over it and Baseball’s all over it and uh the clubs that are involved are all over it so we’ll uh hopefully uh it’ll turn out good for everyone in the end Aaron Boon said you guys were hellbent on winning a title Hal would you characterize the

Effort that you guys have made throughout the organization as as hellbent to win title this year I think so and I think the attitude is that these guys are held bent to win a title but look we all know when you get in the postseason competitive balance being

What it is today compared to 10 years ago let’s say uh as cash says it is a bit of a crapshoot I mean look at the clubs that got knocked out route one last year clubs you wouldn’t have thought um so uh but we got to get there

That’s the whole thing that’s why last year was a failure on every level we didn’t even get there once you’re there most teams have a good chance if not all teams um things happen sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse but that’s the way the postseason is in a

Year that you don’t make the playoffs like last year do you watch the playoffs I did I I watched some I watched some um it’s like I’m a lifelong Vikings fan and they’re never in the Super Bowl so I don’t watch the whole Super Bowl but I I

Watch some of the Super Bowl so same thing same how how would you describe your conversations in the off season with judge and Cole and some of the concerns that they might have expressed to you about yeah they they were involved and Boon was very involved he

Met with our coordinators at the he complex twice in January um about things we might do differently in in the minor leagues or might teach differently um all good conversations and you know for instance with judge and Cole and I was just talking to Cole today in The Dugout

Um you know there were some concerns that both of them raised last year about not so much the information we give them but how it’s presented to them how it funnels down I think was judge’s words right how it funnels down to the players so we’ve added a new person in the

Clubhouse guy here from Tampa that is unbelievably diversed and intelligent in analytics but also was a coach college coach actually I believe great working with people great explaining things and teaching things and listening to what the people he’s dealing with have to say and judge already met with them

One-on-one over there for an hour or two working with them and he likes them so he’s going to be a great addition and again you know we so many questions about significant changes significant changes we’re introducing somebody new into the clubhouse that’s a significant change this is Bo far as I’m concerned

This is Boon’s last year under contract what do you need to see from him to continue get a new deal there that’s that’s something I deal with when the season’s over you know that’s that’s really it’s not something I’m pondering right now so that there’s just so much

Baseball you know take one or two more H historically you guys have not done extensions you let contracts expire would you make an exception and you have made some exceptions over the years of at least engaging guys you did it with judge you did it with Canó years ago

Would Soto be in that category of when you would be open to doing that yeah I’m not big on extensions as you know we’ve ear done them um my concern dealing with that during the season is is a distraction or at least it very well could be a distraction um but having

Said that of both talking about soda if both sides feel very strongly about it and cash feels very strongly about it then uh that’s something I I would consider depending on how the season’s going we just can’t have it be an distraction we just can’t do that mind

Is there more pressure on cash this year just coming off off the year that you guys had last year there more pressure on all of us look at me I mean look at the bags under my eyes come on there’s pressure on all of us man that you know we’re feeling it and

That’s that’s a good thing we deserve to feel it and that’s going to make us stronger this year I think how excited are you about the renovation in the stadium and everything that is very excited next year is going to be a whole different building you know brand new

Training room wet room weight room dining room and then you know we’re also doing a big renovation up at Yankee Stadium too that’ll be done on time for opening day and it’s going to be a lot of new things in the clubhouse for these guys and the feedback so far has been

Very positive I mean why don’t you tell me have you guys heard anything but from the players just do they like the new Clubhouse there you go okay good to hear thanks sir great than app appreciate it yeah