At least one manager will be part of teams’ offseason Juan Soto recruiting efforts.
Aaron Boone told reporters Monday he planned to be present during the Yankees’ meeting with the free agent outfielder in California.
“What Juan did between the lines for us this year was special,” Boone said. “He put together remarkable season. Equally I was just impressed with the person. Really getting to know him was a pleasure. Getting to manage him was a pleasure. I’ll be there next week. I’d love to have him here, obviously. I want him in pinstripes moving forward. There’s going to be a lot of people competing for that and who knows where it ends up. All I know is that we’ll try and put our best foot forward with that.”
Shortly after it was reported that New York Mets owner Steve Cohen planned to personally meet with Soto, the New York Post reported that Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner planned to do the same.
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Soto hit a career-high 41 home runs for the Yankees in 2024, helping lead the team to its first World Series appearance in 15 years.
Now, Soto is expected to command the most lucrative contract of any free agent this offseason — if not ever — after scoring an American League-leading 128 runs, driving in 109, and reaching base at a .419 clip in his first season in the Bronx.
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When the week began, it was an open question of whether the Yankees needed to meet with Soto further before making a formal contract offer. Last Tuesday at the GM Meetings in San Antonio, general manager Brian Cashman told reporters, “since (Juan Soto) knows us, we are standing ready to meet with him if he feels necessary to meet with us as he understands the landscape of opportunities that now exist for himself.”
In a matter of days, the meeting apparently became necessary.
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“Whatever happens, I’m confident the Steinbrenner family and the front office are going to do everything possible to put us in a position to have another strong team, another team that has a chance to compete for a championship,” Boone said. “They’ve done that long before I got here. I know that’ll continue to be the case. Hopefully it’s with Juan but we’ll see how it all plays out.”
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