Will Soto end up with Yankees? For Steinbrenner, 'it's been a priority'

The Yankees have made their freshest pitch to keep Juan Soto in pinstripes, with managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner describing a “good meeting” that included “a very honest, back-and-forth dialogue” with the free agent outfielder.

What does that mean for the Yankees’ chances in what promises to be a lucrative derby between some of the league’s deepest pockets? Steinbrenner declined to speculate, but he said that he understands the fans’ strong desire to retain Soto.

“He's definitely a significant part of why we got to the World Series,” Steinbrenner told reporters on Wednesday. “I've got ears. I know what's expected of me. So, look, it's been a priority. We wouldn't have gone out to the West Coast if it wasn't.”

Steinbrenner spoke in the lobby of Major League Baseball’s offices in Manhattan, where he was attending the Owners Meetings. A Yankees contingent of Steinbrenner, team president Randy Levine, general manager Brian Cashman, manager Aaron Boone and special assistant Omar Minaya met with Soto and agent Scott Boras on Monday near Boras’ Newport Beach, Calif., offices.

Soto is believed to have met with several other teams since the end of the World Series, including the Blue Jays, Dodgers, Mets, and Red Sox. It is not believed that teams have tendered contract offers at this stage, instead focusing these meetings upon conveying interest while laying the groundwork for negotiations to come.

Asked if he is confident the Yankees will re-sign Soto, Steinbrenner replied: “No idea. We’ll be in the mix. I’ll leave it at that.”

The Yankees have repeatedly indicated their desire to retain Soto, who enjoyed one of the best offensive seasons of his career after being acquired from the Padres in December. Steinbrenner and Soto met around the All-Star break to open communications, at which time Soto expressed a desire to wait to discuss business until after the season.

While the Mets and owner Steve Cohen are viewed as the primary threat to lure Soto away from the Bronx, Steinbrenner acknowledged that several other owners or backing corporations could also up the ante.

“If it doesn’t work out, it’s going to hurt a little bit, no matter where he goes,” Steinbrenner said.

Steinbrenner has said that he does not believe teams should require a $300 million payroll to contend for a World Series championship, but with numerous other free agents like Gleyber Torres, Clay Holmes and Anthony Rizzo coming off the books, there are scenarios where the Yankees could make Soto their highest-paid player (exceeding Aaron Judge’s $40 million annual salary) while still addressing the club’s other needs -- pitching, first base, second base and left field among them.

"We're in a better starting position than we were a year ago. There's no doubt about that," Steinbrenner said. "Look, year after year after year after year, payrolls similar to this year and the luxury taxes they produce are not sustainable. That's the case for the vast majority of owners, maybe all of them. Year after year after year -- it doesn't mean in any given year I can't do what I want to do. I mean, we've got the ability to sign any player we want to sign."

Steinbrenner noted that in their meeting, Soto asked about the club’s player development pipeline, which could be taken as an indication that he is interested in understanding how the Yankees plan to remain competitive long-term. If Soto re-signs, Steinbrenner said that he would be promised the same direct pipeline to ownership that Judge and ace Gerrit Cole have experienced in recent seasons.

“Should he be back next year, I made it clear that the kind of relationship I would like is the kind of relationship I have with Gerrit and with Aaron Judge,” Steinbrenner said. “So that message was conveyed.”