Yankees' Aaron Boone will be part of the Juan Soto free agency visit next week
Yankees manager Aaron Boone congratulates Juan Soto after the 5-0 win against the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium on May 23, 2024. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Officially back in the Yankees’ fold for 2025, Aaron Boone will be among the team officials to travel to Los Angeles to meet with free agent Juan Soto next week, the manager said Monday.
Soto’s availability — and his likely contract of $500 million to $600 million or more — is the biggest storyline in baseball at this early stage of the offseason. His process, as outlined recently by his agent, Scott Boras, will include face-to-face meetings with the owners of teams, an opportunity for a given club’s top decision-maker to sell Soto on what the organization’s future looks like and how he would fit into it.
In at least the case of Hal Steinbrenner’s Yankees, that “fairly small meeting,” as Boone described it, will include the manager.
“I will be there,” Boone said during a video news conference after the Yankees picked up their 2025 option on his contract last Friday. “I certainly would love to have him back, obviously. I want him in pinstripes moving forward. But you also know there’s going to be a lot of people competing for that, and who knows where it ends up? All I know is we’ll try to put our best foot forward with it and hope that Juan’s back but also know that whatever happens, I’m confident that the Steinbrenner family and the front office are going to do everything possible to put us in a position to have another strong team.”
Asked what his sales pitch to Soto will be, Boone sounded a bit like an optimistic but nervous young person about to go on a big date.
“I think let it be organic and let the meeting go where it needs to go,” he said. “I’m just going to go in there and be myself, confident in my relationship with Juan and the ability to have honest conversation with him and certainly, hopefully, cement the point of how valuable [he is] and how much we think of him, not only as a player but a person. I got to live 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 ownership that he knows is going to support an opportunity to win annually.”
Acquired last offseason in a trade with the Padres, Soto posted the best season of his career with the Yankees, batting .288 with a .989 OPS, 41 home runs and 109 RBIs. He proved to be a natural fit, pairing with likely AL MVP Aaron Judge to create one of the most powerful offensive tandems in the majors, helping carry the Yankees to the World Series.
Boone made sure to emphasize 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 equally I was impressed with the person and really getting to know him. Getting to manage him was a pleasure.”
A tricky piece 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 just 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 any more dialogue” after the Yankees take care of more pressing offseason business.
“We’ll see what unfolds,” said Boone, who holds the Yankees record for longest start to a managerial tenure without a World Series championship (seven seasons). “But either way, I’m prepared and ready to go and excited for 2025.”
Sometimes, managers are uncomfortable doing the job without a contract beyond that season. Not so in Boone’s case, he said.
“The reality is there’s tons of people going to work every single day with that existence, where it’s year to year,” Boone said. “We just had a season where I had that reality. We were overall able to put together a strong season, but the reality is, this is the existence a lot of people — not only in baseball but in life in general — have.
“So I’m excited to be here. I’m excited to be with this organization. I’m excited to work for the people that I get to work under and with and especially this player group that I’ve developed a really strong tie to.”
Notes & quotes: The Mets hired Yankees assistant pitching coach Desi Druschel for the same role, according to SNY. Boone said his coaching staff might have a second change as well . . . Regarding Jasson Dominguez, the Yankees “fully expect him to be a big part of what we do” next season, Boone said, noting that he can play left and center. But he cautioned that “as a young player, you’re working to earn those opportunities” . . . Boone raved about Roki Sasaki, the 23-year-old star Japanese pitcher who is expected to sign with a major-league team this offseason. “He’s really gifted and very young,” he said. “We know it’s a unique and special talent.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
