TAMPA — Juan Soto made his first appearance at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Sunday, but it’s about to get more real.
A day before position players report to camp, the new Yankees superstar walked through the clubhouse in the morning while getting the lay of the land and also briefly met with manager Aaron Boone for the first time in person.
“Looking forward to having him over here [Monday] and start really getting to know him,” Boone said Sunday afternoon. “But yeah, it was good to see him.”
The first full-squad workout is set for Tuesday, but position players will begin to trickle in Monday from across the street — where many of them have been working out at the Yankees’ player development complex — to take their physicals if they have not already done so.
It’s been two-plus months since the Yankees pulled off the blockbuster with the Padres to land Soto, pairing him with Aaron Judge as one of the game’s best one-two punches.
Now his assimilation into the organization is about to begin in earnest.
“You always hope the group that you’re around moves the needle, even for a couple great players,” Boone said.
Austin Wells caught Gerrit Cole’s bullpen session for the first time on Sunday, part of the Yankees’ plan to get the battery some work together this spring.
Wells did not catch Cole at all during his September call-up last season — Ben Rortvedt handled the Cy Young winner every five days with Jose Trevino on the injured list — but has a chance to gain experience with him during camp.
“I’ll get him in there in a game with him, too,” Boone said.
Trevino is expected to catch Cole during the season, but having Wells prepared to do so gives the Yankees further flexibility in the case of an injury or needing to strengthen their lineup.
Boone got his first look Sunday at Clayton Andrews, the 5-foot-6 lefty reliever that the Yankees acquired from the Brewers on Wednesday.
“He’s got good stuff,” Boone said. “He’s got a really good changeup. Starting to play with some fastball things as far as the four-seam, two-seam. He’s got a good breaking ball, too. He’s a good athlete, former position player. He was really good in his bullpen [session].”
The Yankees traded lefty reliever Matt Krook (designated for assignment on Tuesday) to the Orioles in exchange for cash considerations.