The New York Yankees lost Juan Soto to the rival Mets for many reasons, the most obvious of which was money. Steve Cohen gave Soto a $765 million contract to sign with the Mets for the enxt 15 years. Soto was the premiere free agent on the market this winter, and he was always favored to sign with Cohen's team. His season with the Yankees only helped balloon his overall value, and Scott Boras and Soto cashed in big time.
The Yankees made some worthwhile changes this offseason, including signing Max Fried and trading for Devin Williams and Cody Bellinger, among other roster decisions. However, their most notable choice this spring was to get rid of the team's facial hair policy, which previously forbid players from growing beards. Now, players are allowed to grow and maintain well-groomed facial hair – whatever that means.
“In recent weeks I have spoken to a large number of former and current Yankees -- spanning several eras -- to elicit their perspectives on our longstanding facial hair and grooming policy, and I appreciate their earnest and varied feedback,” owner Hal Steinbrenner said. “These most recent conversations are an extension of ongoing internal dialogue that dates back several years."
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB offseason.
Yankees still haven't changed archaic policy that chased Juan Soto to the Mets
Steinbrenner openly admitted he was afraid of losing out on upcoming free agents because of the old-fashioned policy. However, there is little evidence players avoided the Yankees because of it to date. If anything, it was another policy which angered Soto during his time in the Bronx, and it had little to do with facial hair – Soto is notoriously clean-shaven.
The Yankees would not provide Soto with a suit for his family and close friends last season, per Jon Heyman. While it wasn't the primary reason Soto left the team, it certainly didn't help matters. Past Yankees legends like Aaron Judge and Derek Jeter have also struggled in this department, though it didn't persuade either player to leave the organization like Soto.
"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 back in mid December.
The Yankees have yet to make any changes to THAT policy, though it would probably be in their best interest long term. Current players and prospective free agents value such things, and other contenders like the Mets and Dodgers don't seem to have much of a problem providing a suit.
The Yankees ought to take a long look in the mirror before doing the same.