Juan Soto and Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner had a one-on-one meeting in July, reports Brendan Kuty of the Athletic. The four-time All-Star confirmed the conversation, telling Kuty that “it was good to get to know the owner, get to see what he’s thinking about me and everything.”
Soto didn’t provide any specifics. However, Kuty reports that the general focus of the conversation was on Soto’s experience with the team. “It’s always good to see (an owner) coming over at least to say hi,” the outfielder told The Athletic, “see how we’re doing, what we have in mind, this and that. It’s great to have an owner that really cares for players.”
Steinbrenner hasn’t been shy about his desire to keep the superstar in pinstripes. The owner said in May that he was open to in-season extension talks. Soto closed that down a few weeks later, reiterating in June that he and agent Scott Boras would wait until the offseason to worry about contract terms. Considering Soto has reportedly declined a number of extension offers throughout his career, there was never much doubt that he’d test free agency.
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The Yankees are going to face a push from the crosstown Mets and should have some amount of competition for Soto’s services from every high-payroll franchise. One meeting between Soto and Steinbrenner isn’t going to change the odds of keeping him around, but it’s presumably a bit of a preview of the months to come.
Soto has established a new career high with 41 homers during his first season in the Bronx. He leads the American League with 128 runs scored and is hitting .288/.418/.572 across 704 trips to the plate. By measure of wRC+, Soto has been 80 percentage points better than a league average batter. That’s his best mark in a 162-game schedule.