Yankees' Juan Soto reacts to Hal Steinbrenner contract talk

New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner raised plenty of eyebrows when he said during a recent podcast episode he wants star outfielder Juan Soto to stay "here for the rest of his career." 

Soto was asked about Steinbrenner's comments following New York's 5-0 win at the Minnesota Twins on Thursday.

"My door has always been open," Soto said about potential in-season contract negotiations, per Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com and Greg Joyce of the New York Post. "Whenever (Steinbrenner) wants to start talking to (agent Scott Boras) and all his people, they’re always open to hear whatever he has. For me, I'm just focusing on the game right now."

Soto joined the Yankees from the San Diego Padres via a December trade, is a big reason the first-place Bronx Bombers began Friday with a record of 30-15 and seems to be loving life in the Big Apple. 

The 25-year-old, who remains on track to reach free agency this fall, ended Thursday's MLB action with a .302 batting average and a .920 OPS on the season. Across his first 45 games of the campaign, he tallied nine home runs and 34 RBI. 

"It is really nice to see owners and GMs talking about me on their team for whole life," Soto added. "But at the end of the day, I’m focusing on this year, what we want to do this year and how much games we want to win and how far we want to go." 

As recently as Friday morning, Miller mentioned in a different article that it's unlikely Soto will sign any extension before free agency opens. 

"Regardless of how much money is offered in-season though, if Steinbrenner actually makes one, Soto isn’t going to accept it," Miller noted about an extension. Miller added that Boras "always chases the dollar."

It's thought Soto wants to reset the market via a bidding war that could involve big-spending New York Mets owner Steve Cohen offering him a historic contract. 

"It’s been pretty nice, it’s been pretty cool," Soto said about representing the Yankees. "Fan base has been amazing, not only in New York, they’ve been all over every stadium we go. You can hear it. … So the fan base has been unbelievable. New York feels great. It’s a lot of culture, a lot of Hispanic culture and everything. I’ve been feeling good so far and the stadium and clubhouse and everything has been pretty cool." 

Nobody should think, though, that Soto's camp will give Steinbrenner even a small discount for the slugger to commit his future to the Yankees this summer.