Juan Soto ‘not closing any doors’ before looming free agency

SAN DIEGO — Back in the city that reminded him again that baseball is a business, Juan Soto stuck to a businessman-like script.

Returning to Petco Park for the first time since the Padres traded him to the Yankees in December, Soto was once again asked about his future with a huge payday looming in free agency next offseason.

“We aren’t closing any doors,” Soto said before homering in the Yankees’ 8-0 blowout win over the Padres on Friday night. “Whoever wants to talk about deals, I’m open to dealing with anybody. But that’s going to be in the future.

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“We’re going to see if we make it to the future, but right now, I’m focusing on 2024. I’m a Yankee right now. My goals are really clear, to win a championship.”

Soto’s comment about making it to the future seemed to hint at keeping the door open for an in-season extension with the Yankees, which Hal Steinbrenner recently said he hoped to talk about, though it still remains overwhelmingly likely that the 25-year-old outfielder will reach free agency.

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It wasn’t long ago that the Padres were the ones talking about extending Soto, like the Nationals before them.

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Soto said he thought he was still going to be a Padre this season until about a week before the trade in which the Yankees had to give up Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Randy Vasquez, Jhony Brito and Kyle Higashioka.

“It was a little uncomfortable, but at the same [time], it’s just part of the business,” Soto said. “I learned that with the Nationals. But it is what it is. It’s just a business, so you got to take it that way. No hard feelings or anything like that, but I was preparing myself to come back to San Diego. They changed my plans, but at least they changed it for good and traded me to a great team and organization.

“I was happy to be traded to an organization like the Yankees.”

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