Mariano Rivera Gives Pitch for Juan Soto to Be 'Yankee for Life' amid Contract Rumors

Former New York Yankees legendary closer Mariano Rivera is the latest to try to convince star outfielder Juan Soto to receive a contract extension from the team, and he's hoping it will be one that keeps him in pinstripes for the rest of his career.

"If I had to tell Juan Soto to be a Yankee for life, it wouldn't take me much to say," Rivera told The Athletic's Brendan Kuty before Saturday's game between the Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers. "It is what it is. To me, the Yankees are the Yankees. It's a special place. It's second to none. He knows. I think playing here, experiencing this, he knows about it. … If he approached me or if the question was asked, I would definitely say that."

Rivera spent his entire 19-year career in New York, winning five World Series titles and recording an MLB-record 652 saves. He's hoping that Soto can experience similar success with the team.

"Listen," Rivera said, "playing for the New York Yankees and being part of the New York Yankees — it's something unique. It's something special that you have to experience, that you have to be around. Then the rest is history."

In his first year in the Big Apple after being acquired in an offseason trade with the San Diego Padres, Soto has not taken long to make an impact for the Yankees. He leads New York with a .318 batting average while adding 17 home runs and 53 RBI. It appears that he has already set himself up for a historic payday when he hits free agency this winter.

The Yankees could have a chance to avoid risking losing Soto on the open market, as the 25-year-old said last month that he would allow his agent Scott Boras to negotiate a contract extension during the season if the team approaches him. Team owner Hal Steinbrenner said at the time that he would leave the door open to entering negotiations before the offseason.

"We'd like to see him here for the rest of his career. I don't think there's any doubt in that. His agent, Scott, doesn't tend to do deals in the middle of the season. Neither do I. I think it can be a distraction," Steinbrenner told the YES Network. "But as I said in spring training ... this is a unique situation and a very unique player, so I wouldn't be shocked if there was a conversation or two had possibly during the course of a season. I think it's worth doing at some point."

Soto sat out Saturday's game due to left forearm tightness and the Yankees suffered an 11-3 loss, their second straight loss to the Dodgers without the star slugger in the lineup.

Still, New York has the second-best record in the majors at 45-21 behind only the Philadelphia Phillies (45-19) entering Sunday's series finale against the Dodgers (41-25).