After New York Yankees leadership, including general manager Brian Cashman, presented flowers to the mother and girlfriend of new pitcher Max Fried at his unveiling, some baseball fans believe the move is a subtle swipe at Juan Soto.
Fried’s mother, Carrie Fried, and his girlfriend sat front row in the Bronx for Fried’s introduction to New York and were presented with white bouquets before the Yankees’ newest starting pitcher said a word.
The possible dig at Soto comes after the Yankees reportedly declined to grant Soto one contract incentive: a free luxury suite at the stadium. The Mets relented on that portion of his record-breaking contract.
Soto’s family, like the rest of the Yankees’ roster, would have been forced to continue paying for the VIP treatment, while the Steinbrenner family would not have opted to pass over the richest man in baseball let it jump.
After spending the 2022 season in the Bronx, Soto was baseball’s prize of the offseason, with the Yankees reportedly offering $760 million for the 26-year-old to stay put.
Instead, Soto signed a 15-year deal worth $765 million to move from the Bronx to Queens to join the Mets.
Yankees management presented Max Fried’s mother and girlfriend with flowers during his unveiling in the Bronx
The possible dig comes after the Yankees reportedly declined to give Soto one incentive
Yankees fans have said this to the organization hands out similar white flowers for every recent major free agent signing.
New York might not care if they offend someone who turned down the richest contract in sports history from their front office to sign one in a neighboring borough.
Soto’s deal is the largest and longest in Major League Baseball history, surpassing Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, a deal signed last December.
That deal included $680 million in deferred payments and is valued at just under $46.1 million annually for baseball’s luxury tax purposes.
Soto’s deal is believed to include no deferred money, leaving the average annual value at $51 million. Its length exceeds Fernando Tatis Jr.’s 14-year contract. with San Diego worth $340 million, running until 2034.