What Yankees' Aaron Judge told Juan Soto about playing in contract year

New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge knows a little something about what All-Star outfielder Juan Soto is experiencing while featuring for the club amid a contract year. 

For a piece produced by ESPN's Jorge Castillo that was published on Tuesday, Judge revealed what he said to Soto this past spring about approaching free agency. 

"I just kind of talked to him early on and said, 'Hey, just do your thing. There's going to be a lot of noise, but you play your game, you do what you can. All that stuff's going to work out at the end,'" Judge explained. "And we kind of just left it at that because I know how it was when I was going through it. I didn't want somebody bringing it up every single day. I didn't want somebody to bring it up every month. After a good month bringing it up, after a bad month bringing it up. It's just, 'Go do your thing.'"

Yankees senior vice president/general manager Brian Cashman famously told reporters ahead of Opening Day in 2022 that Judge had declined New York's seven-year, $213.5M contract extension offer and would remain on track to reach free agency through that campaign. Judge then crushed an American League single-season record of 62 home runs before he ultimately signed a nine-year, $360M deal to stay with the Yankees. 

While becoming the 16th captain in Yankees history meant plenty to Judge, who has played only for the storied franchise at the highest level, Soto joined the Bronx Bombers from the San Diego Padres via a December 2023 trade and had no ties to the organization before the completion of that transaction. The 25-year-old has since produced a career-best season and reportedly could receive a contract offer worth $600M across 12 years from a bidder such as the New York Mets once he hits the open market after the upcoming World Series. 

"The Mets loom as the Yankees' strongest competition, according to people with knowledge of the situation," Castillo wrote about Soto's future beyond this season. "Mets owner Steve Cohen's deep pockets and burning desire to win could upend the bidding war." 

Soto may have to choose between resetting the market for position players and accepting less money to build a legacy with his current employer if Cohen is serious about outbidding every other owner, including the Yankees' Hal Steinbrenner, for the slugger's services. For now, Soto seems happy to concentrate on helping the first-place Yankees (83-61) pursue their first trip to a World Series since they won the 2009 edition of the Fall Classic. 

"Who doesn't want to be part of Yankees history? I think the only way to be part of Yankees history is being a champion," Soto recently remarked. 

It remains to be seen if Soto would give Steinbrenner any kind of discount to chase a World Series ring with the Yankees if the club falls short of its main goal this October.