NEW YORK — Yankees veterans are paying attention. They know what Aaron Judge and Juan Soto do together, playing second and third in Aaron Boone’s lineup every day.

They believe the duo can lead the Yankees to a long-awaited championship… perhaps in October, or in the years to come if they stay together.

Of course, that depends on which big pot of gold Soto chooses when he hits the market in the winter as the best available player.

Soto is also likely to land the largest contract, perhaps the second-richest ever, behind the largely delayed $700 million deal Shohei Ohtani signed with the Dodgers last winter.

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During Old-Timers’ Day at Yankee Stadium, some of the franchise’s big names weighed in on Soto’s decision before the Yankees were defeated 9-2 by the Rockies.

The most idiosyncratic was 80-year-old Lou Piniella, who won two World Series as an outfielder for the Yankees in the 1970s before going on to coach and manage the club.

Piniella sent Soto a message:

“Think about what happened to Robinson Cano. He had great years there with the Yankees. He wants Seattle. Seattle’s stadium is bigger. It’s harder to hit home runs there. He didn’t do well there.”

Piniella added that Soto’s best move would be to accept the Yankees’ best offer, which would undoubtedly be considerably higher than the record-setting deal Judge signed after his 62-home run season in 2022, a 10-year, $360 million contract.

Soto is only 25, so he gets more years. He’s also expected to make at least $40 million on average, probably more. Thirteen years at $40 million would be $520 million. Thirteen years at $45 million would be $585 million.

Will Hal Steinbrenner go that high?

Will agent Scott Boras get the Mets and/or Dodgers to offer more?

Carelessly…

“I would take the Yankees’ money and stay here,” Piniella said. “It’s a dream for Soto to be in Yankee Stadium with the short porch in right field. I would stay here. He was a really good signing for the Yankees (last winter). You’ve got to have three or four guys in the lineup that can do some damage and there’s nobody better than Soto and Judge back-to-back.”

The Yankees know this and are therefore seen as the favorite to make a winter deal.

Soto says he loves playing for the Yankees, he loves their passionate fans, he loves playing in New York and he loves being a contender.

But there is a sense in the industry that Soto will sign with whoever offers the most money. There is no guarantee that will be the Yankees, and Soto has said he is open to signing with any club.

“Everywhere Soto goes, he keeps it close to his chest,” franchise pitching coach David Cone said. “He’s a smart kid.”

If someone outbids the Yankees, Cone agrees with Piniella and believes Soto’s best option is the status quo.

“Well, I think a lot of these guys are in a much better position than they were in years past because if you look at his career earnings to this point, Soto is in a pretty strong position,” Cone said.

Soto’s career earnings have already exceeded $80 million.

“For me, it would be as much about fit as it would be about maximizing dollars if I were him,” Cone added. “But only he can answer that question.”

Hideki Matsui, the World Series MVP when the Yankees last won their championship in 2009, is curious to see if Soto will leave if another club offers the most money.

“It’s all about what’s important to Soto,” Matsui said through a Japanese interpreter. “What’s his priority? Only he knows. He’s in a place where he can really choose.”

Money was not the main motivation when Matsui left Japan as his country’s biggest star player after the 2002 season to play in Major League Baseball.

“I wasn’t a player of Soto’s caliber, but when I was a free agent, I just wanted to play for the Yankees,” Matsui said. “There was nothing else. But that was my situation.

“There might have been money left over from other offers when I signed with the Yankees, but it didn’t matter that much. It didn’t matter to me. I wanted to be a Yankee. That’s really what it was.”

In Soto’s case, if Steinbrenner offered the biggest deal, he would guarantee a return to the Yankees.

When CC Sabathia signed a seven-year, $161 million contract with the Yankees as a free agent after the 2008 season, he received the highest amount and joined a contender.

“I had the opportunity to do both,” he said with a laugh. “My goal when I hit free agency was to go to a place where I could win the World Series. Fortunately, it was the place that offered me the most money and I was able to do both.”

What do you think of Soto’s free agency?

“I think it’s up to the player,” Sabathia said. “He’s got to go where he feels comfortable and if he wants to feel like he can win a World Series or whatever, he’s got goals to go when he goes into free agency. So it’s up to the player to see what he feels is important. We’ll just have to see where he puts the responsibility.”

When Cone was a free agent after playing for the Blue Jays and Yankees in 1995, he went for the money, re-signing with the Yanks for $19.5 million over three years.

“When I was a free agent, I thought, ‘This is my one shot, so I might as well take advantage of it,'” Cone said. “Money was a big consideration because up until that point, my career earnings weren’t life-changing. These guys are already having life-changing career earnings before they’re even in free agency for the most part.

“There’s nothing wrong with going for the top prize, but there are other things to consider. Soto has a comfortable net worth. Is it worth having an extra X million in the grand scheme of things?”

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Randy Miller can be reached at [email protected].