Juan Soto leaving Yankees had everything to do with Derek Jeter and Aaron Judge

The shocker of the offseason went down late on Sunday night. Juan Soto opted to ditch the New York Yankees and sign a 15-year deal to join the New York Mets. Sure, Soto joining Steve Cohen and Co. for an amount of money that blew the Yankees and the field out of the water, but that's not what happened.

The total values of the offers were practically identical. Sure, the Mets offered a bit more when it came to the signing bonus and contract escalators, but at the end of the day, the offers were pretty comparable. It appears to have been more than just money that brought Soto to Queens.

Was it the fact that he felt that the Mets were better positioned to win over the next 15 years than the Yankees? Perhaps, but it appeared to also be perks, like a suite Cohen chose to give to him and his family, that put the deal over the top.

When the idea of a suite came up, the Yankees didn't budge, according to Jon Heyman of the NY Post.

"The Yankees felt they couldn’t give a suite to Soto when Judge pays for his suite, and even Derek Jeter paid. They were willing to discount a suite but not alter their precedent," Heyman wrote.

Refusing to give Soto preferential treatment that they refused to give franchise icons like Aaron Judge and Derek Jeter makes some sense, but really? This is where they drew the line?

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Yankees might've lost out on Juan Soto for worst possible reason

Tradition is great, but some traditions that this Yankees franchise has just don't make much sense. Refusing to allow your players to grow beards is one very strange tradition that somehow is still a thing. Refusing to give a superstar like Soto (or even Judge or Jeter) a suite is another very strange tradition. If this is really what cost them Soto, that's a bad look.

"Cohen didn’t give the suite much of a thought. When he has his eyes on a prize, he is singularly focused."

This should've been the Yankees' attitude. They were willing to give Soto 16 years and $760 million, why not just do this to give them the best shot to land the player? Would Soto have signed with the team had they given him a suite? Perhaps not, but it couldn't have hurt.

Jeter should have his own suite, now, even when he isn't playing, because of everything he did for the Yankees. Judge should have his own suite now that he doesn't have to pay for. Soto should have that same perk. Superstars should get preferential treatment. Not every player is exactly the same. There's a reason that the Yankees were willing to give him the largest contract for a professional athlete in sports history.

Giving Soto that one perk if it meant getting the player sure sounds better than refusing to do so and instead watching him sign with the crosstown rival. Unfortunately, the Yankees stuck to their strange beliefs, and might've lost the player to the other team in their city because of it.