Yankees manager Aaron Boone made it clear he’d love for Juan Soto to stay with the team, but he knows there’s going to be a lot of competition for the Dominican star, who’s one of the top free agents on the MLB market right now.

“Of course, I’d love for him to stay; I want to keep seeing him in pinstripes. But I also know there’s going to be some serious competition for him,” Boone said. The Yankees recently extended Boone’s contract through the 2025 season, so he’s in it for the long haul, too.

“I feel like I can have an honest conversation with him. I got to experience that with him this year. That’d be my pitch: to just tell him how much we want him and let the conversation flow,” Boone told the press in a virtual interview.

Soto, 26, joined the Yankees before last season in a trade from the San Diego Padres and put on an absolute show for New York, batting .288 with career highs in hits (166), home runs (41), runs scored (128), and he racked up 109 RBIs too.

With his stellar performance, Soto helped lead the Yankees to the postseason and their first World Series appearance in 15 years. Even though they lost to the LA Dodgers in the end, Soto batted .313 with six runs and a homer over five games in the series.

“As I’ve said all year, what Juan Soto did on the field was amazing, and he had an incredible season,” Boone added. He also mentioned being just as impressed with Soto’s personality: “It was equally impressive getting to know him as a person. It was a pleasure to work with him and to manage him.”

Next week, Boone will head out to California with top Yankees executives, including team owner Hal Steinbrenner, to meet with Soto and his agent, Scott Boras. Boone is hoping this will show Soto how much they value him, not only as a player but as a person too.

Although no official numbers have been discussed, sources suggested last Wednesday that Soto may be looking for a deal even bigger than the $700 million, 10-year contract Shohei Ohtani got. So far, only the Dodgers have been able to land deals of that size in the MLB.