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The Yankees will visit Soto next week and Boone will be there
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The Yankees will visit Soto next week and Boone will be there

Officially returning to the Yankees fold for 2025, Aaron Boone will be among team officials traveling to Los Angeles to meet with free agent Juan Soto next week, the manager announced Monday.

Soto’s availability — and his likely contract of $500 million to $600 million or more — is the biggest story in baseball this early in the offseason. His process, as recently described by his agent, Scott Boras, will include face-to-face meetings with team owners, an opportunity for a given club’s top decision-maker to sell Soto on what the team looks like. he future of the organization and how it would fit into it.

In the case of Hal Steinbrenner’s Yankees at least, that “fairly small meeting,” as Boone described it, will include the manager.

“I’ll be there,” Boone said during a video news conference after the Yankees picked up their 2025 option on his contract. “I would definitely love to have him back, obviously. I want it to go forward in pinstripes. But you also know that there will be a lot of people competing for it, and who knows where it will end up? All I know is that we will try to do our best and hope that Juan is back, but I also know that no matter what happens, I am confident that the Steinbrenner family and the front office will do everything their best to welcome us. a position to have another strong team.

When asked what his sales pitch to Soto would be, Boone sounded a bit like an optimistic but nervous youngster about to have a big date.

“I think it has to be organic and the meeting goes where it needs to go,” he said. “I’m just going to go out there and be myself, confident in my relationship with Juan and my ability to have an honest conversation with him and certainly, hopefully, cement the point about his worth and how much we think to him, not only as a player but as a person. I had to experience that with him this year.

Boras said last week: “Playing in New York for Juan was really, really comfortable. He really, really enjoyed his teammates, the Yankee experience. . . Juan Soto wants a property that he knows will support an opportunity to win every year.

Acquired last offseason in a trade with the Padres, Soto had the best season of his career with the Yankees, hitting .288 with a .989 OPS, 41 home runs and 109 RBIs. He proved to be a natural fit, teaming up with likely AL MVP Aaron Judge to create one of the most potent offensive tandems in the majors, helping the Yankees advance to the World Series.

Boone, courting, made sure to point out, however, that it wasn’t just the numbers that impressed the Yankees.

“Obviously what Juan did for us between the lines this year was pretty special,” Boone said. “But I was also impressed by the person and really got to know him. Getting to manage it was a pleasure.

One tricky part of the Yankees-Soto dynamic as they mull marriage: They don’t know for sure who will be the manager beyond next season.

When the Yankees announced Friday that Boone would be back in 2025, they said exactly that — and only that. Boone did not receive a contract extension. And there are no active extension talks, he said, adding that “we’ll see if there’s more dialogue” once the Yankees take care of the team’s more pressing matters. offseason.

“We’ll see what happens,” said Boone, who holds the Yankees record for longest start to a manager’s tenure without a World Series championship (seven seasons). “But regardless, I’m prepared and ready to go and excited for 2025.”

Sometimes managers aren’t comfortable doing their job without a contract beyond this season. That’s not the case in Boone’s case, he said.

“The reality is there are tons of people who work with this existence every day, year after year,” Boone said. “We just had a season where I had this reality. We managed to have a good season overall, but the reality is that’s the existence that a lot of people – not only in baseball but in life in general – have.

“So I’m excited to be here. I am delighted to be part of this organization. I am delighted to work for the people I work with and in particular for this group of players with whom I have developed a very strong bond.

Notes and quotes: Boone said his coaching staff will see one change “for sure” and maybe a second. He declined to be specific. . . Regarding Jasson Dominguez, the Yankees “fully expect him to be a big part of what we do” next season, Boone said, noting he can play left and center. But he warned that “as a young player you work to earn these opportunities”. . . Boone is full of praise for Roki Sasakithe 23-year-old Japanese star pitcher who is expected to sign with a major league team this offseason. “He’s really talented and very young,” he said. “We know he’s a unique and special talent.”