The New York Yankees landed Juan Soto in a massive blockbuster trade with the San Diego Padres ahead of the 2024 MLB campaign. Since then, Soto has done incredibly well with the Yankees.
Entering Thursday, Soto has a .310 batting average with nine home runs and 34 RBI and adds more fuel to a lineup that includes Ahtony Volpe and Aaron Judge, among others. Soto is on the final year of his current deal, but there is hope that he will remain in New York after the season.
Hal Steinbrenner recently spoke about Soto's future with the team, and what he said should be good news for Yankees fans (h/t Jack Curry of YES, via his podcast).
“I interviewed Hal Steinbrenner for my “Yankees News & Views” podcast. He said he’d like to see Soto finish his career with the Yankees. While Boras’s clients typically go to free agency, Steinbrenner also said it’s likely there will be talks this season. Podcast dropping soon.”
Soto staying in New York would be a huge deal for the Yankees, although the opportunity to hit the free agency market in the Winter could be tough for him to pass on. Either way, Steinbrenner's comments are a bit eye-opening as we approach June.
While Soto's time with the Padres went well, the reality was setting in that they might not be able to sign him long-term, so they decided to open up trade talks and recoup some assets in any way possible.
Scott Boras chimes in on Juan Soto contract talks
Whether or not the Yankees will be able to negotiate and complete an extension with Soto remains to be seen, although these comments from Steinbrenner show it is a possibility. Scott Boras, Soto's agent, spoke to Jack Curry of YES about Steinbrenner's comments:
‘With Hal Steinbrenner saying he wants Soto to be a Yankee for life & raising idea of talking this season, I reached out to Scott Boras, Soto's agent. Boras texted, “Always happy to talk with Hal. Juan is getting to know the Yankee organization. His singular focus is winning.”‘
Soto's focus, for now at least, is winning baseball games. The Yankees have done just that, moving to a 29-15 record entering Thursday's series finale with the Minnesota Twins. They currently sit on top of the American League East and have the best record in the American League with one of the best in the MLB. So, winning games is certainly what they are doing so far this season.
Soto also responded to the comments from Hal Steinbrenner, per Erik Boland of Newsday.
“My door’s always open. Whenever he wants to start talking to Scott and all his people…they’re always open to hearing what he has (to say).”
As the year goes on, keeping an eye on Juan Soto's extension talks with the Yankees will be a big priority. If they can get it done and prevent him from hitting the open market, that would be huge going forward for the franchise.
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