 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? I'm excited. I think these guys really believe they have something to prove, and they're ready to do it. I will tell you, we had a large number of guys the entire month of January over at the Himes Complex voluntarily working out, getting in shape, ramping it up more so than I ever remember, and I don't think it's a coincidence. I think they're really ready to go. A couple of your players had talked about how embarrassed they were last year and how that motivated a lot of them to show up really at the complex, et cetera. Organizationally, how much of a motivator was that for you guys? I was embarrassed. We were all embarrassed. I mean, not only as one person in this organization, I wasn't embarrassed. I have no doubt for them that it was a big motivation. Like I said, they believe they have something to prove after that disaster last year. And they're going to be, I mean, 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 six weeks ago in earnest, almost every day they were there. So 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, Meredith, but they, I'm just telling 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 off season. The luxury tax payrolls are already over the highest threshold. Do you feel like you have something to prove to fans with the way this off season has 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 did not play up to their potential. 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. What do you think Juan Soto adds to this team, and do you think you can keep him long term? Well, I don't want to get too much into that because, you know, he just got here, and I just met him two days ago. He's going to mean a lot. I got to talk to him briefly on the field, very intelligent young man, and obviously very motivated and very successful already, already a world champion, and already has just went right into the clubhouse and fit right in. So I think he's going to be great. And, you know, seeing him and Judge and Stanton, two, three, four, whatever the order in the lineup, it's going to be pretty special. Wow, there is still free. Do you think that you have enough on this roster? Are you, some free agent out there is 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 SNL? 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. 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 this team brings my way. I'll leave it at that. But we are not done trying to improve this team. How do you feel about that? It shouldn't take that $300 million payroll to win a championship. I still agree with that. Yes. Pushed you over the edge. Well, we didn't have a whole lot of money come off the payroll. I think we started this off-season at $250, right around $245, $250. So it's not going to take much to get up to $300. Do you feel like you have enough pitching right now? I think our starting rotation is very good, yes. Depth, injuries, we lost King. And we lost some pitchers in the SOTO trade. And that's why a lot of the other trades we were looking at, everybody seemed to want guys like Warren and Hampton. And I just wasn't willing to part with them. So the depth is somewhat concerning to me. But the rotation, as it stands, is a very good one. And we still have Warren at AAA. At some point, you're going to see him this year, probably. Louise Hill and a few others. I was wondering what you're thinking on the SOTO trade. Obviously, it was a big price to pay. Why did you say yes? I mean, he's a generational player. The opportunity arose where the Padres needed certain things that we had. And I don't know how you can say no if you're able to do it financially and able and willing to give up what they're asking for, which was not easy for me to give up those guys. 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. 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. Whether it's trades or signings, I'm not saying anything's going to happen. I'm not saying something's not going to happen. But I'm still willing to improve this team however we can. Why so fast? Is it last year that 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, I start the offseason at 250. It doesn't take much to start working your way up. Do I think you should have a $300 million team to win a world championship? No, I don't. But again, we started at a pretty high level already. And soda 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 offseason. Are you comfortable paying someone more than your captain? I guess that's an interesting question, but not one I've thought about. I'm not sure Judge would care if we got one soda for many years to come. But look, the market is what the market is, and he's going to cost what he cost. We'll just have to wait and see. Was that something you considered with your offer to Yamamoto with regards to Garrett? No, I wouldn't say that. I mean, I just think 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 try to get them. But I just felt $300 million. I just felt right or wrong that the bidding was going to continue. And $300 million was a very good offer. And I think a lot of our fans agree with that. So is there anything ongoing right now that's close? You said that you're willing to do anything that cash comes to you with or consider it. Is there anything in front of you right now that you are considering? 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 we've already given up some very good prospects. And the Major League are in King this year. And I'm going to be very hesitant to give up the kind of guys like Warren and Hampton and Spencer Jones that have been asked about a lot. Don't forgive me for repeating that. But every 24 hours is a fresh room and that you guys are about to sign snow. I mean, it seems not going to get into any specific players. Not going to get into any specific players. Does it affect your thinking when Aaron Judge says he thinks and hopes the team will continue to act? 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. Just one year of SOTO and given that, how much you had to give up to get him. Does that up the thinking of adding to this year's roster? No, no. I want to add to this year's roster 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. So there's always work to be done. And opening day is not pencils down, right? I mean, 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 fill it. And we're going to just keep exploring possibilities and considering things, as we always do every year, as the days and weeks progress. From your impressions of your meetings with Yamamoto, if you offered $325 million, do you think it would have made a difference? That's pure hypothetical. I don't know. I honestly don't know. I don't know. Was it too much for you to consider $325? I felt the $300 was a very, very good offer. How disappointed were you that it didn't go that way? I mean, they did. I mean, it was worth it. Yeah, we were disappointed. We had a great meeting with him. He's a great young man and obviously a great player. 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 have a limit. You have to have a limit because of circumstances like that. I haven't 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. Whether it's bullpen or starting. Look, we've got a great in-field. We've got a great out-field. I mean, I don't think you'd ever have enough pitching. And I say that every year because somebody asked me the question every year. But 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 Morris recently? I will not talk about individual agents. But I have talked to certain agents recently, yes. And obviously, any agent that wants to reach out to Cashman, Cashman's phone is always on. And he's great about talking to anybody who wants to talk to him. Are you surprised that a handful of his guys are still free agents? I haven't pondered that, to be honest with you. I mean, they're all incredibly talented guys. And I'm sure they're going to land somewhere eventually. And you know, is what it is. But I haven't really pondered whether or not I'm surprised. And it 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 a lot of uncertainty around RSMs. Around RSMs, I'll swear. I know you guys are in a different situation. But is that something that looking into the future concerns you, the model? I don't want to get into baseball economics about RSMs and all that. I'm really here just to talk about the season and all that. But look, 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 the clubs that are involved are all over it. So hopefully it'll turn out good for everyone in the end. Aaron Boone said you guys were hell bent on winning a title. Hal, would you characterize the effort that you guys have made throughout the organization as hell bent to win a title this year? I think so. And I think the attitude is that these guys are hell 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. As Cash says, it is a bit of a crap shoot. I mean, look at the clubs that got knocked out round one last year. Clubs you wouldn't have thought. 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. 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 watch them. I watch them. 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 watch some of the Super Bowl. So same thing. Same thing. How would you describe your conversations in the offseason with Judge and Cole and some of the concerns that they might have expressed to you about? Yeah, they were involved. And Boone was very involved. He met with our coordinators at the Heinz Complex twice in January about things we might do differently in the minor leagues or might teach differently. All good conversations. And for instance, with Judge and Cole, and I was just talking to Cole today in the dugout, 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, with Judge's words. How it funnels down to the players. So we've added a new person in the clubhouse, a guy here from Tampa that is unbelievably versed in intelligence and 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, so many questions about significant changes, significant changes. We're introducing somebody new into the clubhouse. That's a significant change. This is Boone's last year under contract. What do you need to see from him to continue to get a new deal back? That's something I deal with when the season's over. Really, it's not something I'm pondering right now. So there's just so much baseball. Take one or two more. Is that a best guy? Hal, 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 Cano years ago. Would SOTO be in that category of one you would be open to doing that with? Yeah, I'm not big on extensions. As you know, we've really done them. My concern dealing with that during a season is it's a distraction, or at least it very well could be a distraction. But having said that, if both talking about SOTO, if both sides feel very strongly about it and cash feels very strongly about it, then that's something I would consider depending on how the season's going. We just can't have it be a distraction. We just can't do that. Is there more pressure on cash this year just coming off the year that you guys had last year? There's more pressure on all of us. Look at me. I mean, look at the bags under my eyes. There's pressure on all of us, man. We're feeling it, and 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 and the stadium and everything that is going on? Very excited. Next year is going to be a whole different building. Brand new training room, wet room, weight room, dining room. And then 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 if you guys heard anything from the players? Just do they like the new clubhouse? There you go. OK. Good to hear. Thanks, sir. Great. Thanks, sir. I appreciate it. Appreciate it. Yeah.