MLB: The Yankees are confident of seeing Juan Soto again in New York

The owner of Yankees from New York Hal Steinbrenner confirmed that team officials recently met with the free agent Juan Soto in California.

Steinbrenner described the meeting as a “good meeting” that included “very honest discussions on both sides” without revealing many other details.

“Our fans really appreciated his presence in New York,” Steinbrenner said Wednesday in the lobby of the MLB office where owners meetings are being held this week.

“He definitely played a big part in getting to the World Series. I hear what the fans want and I know what is expected of me. Signing Juan is definitely a priority for us. We wouldn’t have gone to meet him on the West Coast if that wasn’t true. »

Steinbrenner said the Yankees delegation included general manager Brian Cashman, manager Aaron Boone, president Randy Levine and Omar Minaya, special assistant to the general manager.

The owner declined to share the team’s proposal with Soto or whether any offers were made during the two-hour meeting. He said he told Soto that he would establish a relationship with the star outfielder similar to the one he has with the team’s first baseman. Gerrit Cole etc Judge Aaron should Soto choose to re-sign in the Bronx. Steinbrenner noted that Soto asked about the organization’s player development system.

“No idea,” Steinbrenner said when asked if he had the confidence to sign Soto. We’ll be in the race, I’ll leave it at that. »

In addition to the Yankees, Soto met the New York MetsAN Toronto Blue JaysAN Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers over the past week. The Mets, backed by the deep pockets of billionaire owner Steve Cohen, are widely seen as the Yankees’ main rivals for Soto’s services.

Soto’s next contract could come close to that $700M deal Shohei Ohtani signed last winter, over 14 or 15 seasons.

Soto, 26, helped the Yankees reach the World Series last season with a .288 batting average, 41 home runs and 109 RBIs. He also had a .419 fielding average with a .989 OPS in 157 games in his seventh season in the majors. The Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native had a .327 batting average and added four homers and nine RBIs in 14 playoff games.