Juan Soto has settled in just fine with the Yankees, marveling at the reach and intensity of the fan base, relishing New York's rich culture and, of course, hitting in a loaded lineup right in front of Aaron Judge.

He'll have a decision to make sooner than later on whether to re-up, with his first time as a free agent looming in the fall. But perhaps he won't make it to the open market at all. Soto said Thursday that he would give his blessing to contract talks during the season if the Yankees want to approach his agent, Scott Boras, about a long-term contract.

Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner told the team's YES Network he'd consider such a tactic for the three-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger, who's still just 25 years old.

Juan Soto made Major League history on Tuesday night when he drew a walk during the New York Yankees' 5-1 win over the Minnesota Twins.

Soto broke a tie with Yankees legend Mickey Mantle for the most walks drawn by a batter before turning 26.

He will not celebrate his 26th birthday until Oct. 25. 

Soto entered Tuesday night hitting .314/.414/.541 with nine home runs and 34 runs batted in on the season. 

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole threw 29 pitches including breaking balls on Saturday in his third bullpen session since injuring his elbow in spring training.

Cole said he threw 13 curveballs and his fastball reached 89 mph in the workout before the Yankees played at Tampa Bay.

"Fastball profiles were good," Cole said. "Location was good. Velocity was where we wanted. A lot of strikes."

Giancarlo Stanton hit a 119.9 mph home run Wednesday night against the Houston Astros, the hardest-hit ball in the Major Leagues this season.

In the third inning, Stanton pulled a 1-2 curveball from rookie Spencer Arrighetti into the second deck in left field at Yankee Stadium, just inside the foul pole. The Yankees went on to win 9-4.

It was Stanton's third-hardest-hit home run since Statcast tracking began in 2015. He launched a 121.7 mph homer against the Texas Rangers in August 2018 -- the record in the Statcast era -- and a 121.3 mph shot at the Washington Nationals in July 2020 that ranks second.

Yankees ace Gerrit Cole threw off a mound Saturday morning for the first time since being shut down in mid-March, checking off another box in his road back from an elbow injury.

Cole took the mound in the Yankees' bullpen at 10:40 a.m., hours before New York took on the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium. He said he threw 15 pitches, 13 for strikes and all fastballs. He said the pitches averaged 89 mph.

"It was exciting," Cole said. "This was a good day for me. I was fired up."

Aaron Judge has accomplished plenty during his nine-year major league career. The five-time All-Star set the American League record for home runs in a season in 2022. He won the AL MVP award. He was named the 16th captain in New York Yankees history.

And not once in his first 869 career games was the 32-year-old slugger ever ejected.

That streak, though, ended Saturday at Yankee Stadium.

Judge was tossed for the first time leading off the seventh inning after arguing a called third strike in the Yankees' eventual 5-3 win over the Detroit Tigers. 

Yankees ace Gerrit Cole is scheduled to throw off a mound Saturday for the first time since getting injured in spring training.

"Whether that's a full bullpen or what exactly that looks like, we'll see," New York manager Aaron Boone said before Friday night's game against Detroit. "I think it's gone well so far, his build-up and checking the boxes and the level of intensity of throwing and things like that. So far, so good. Getting off the mound will obviously be another step."

Aaron Judge is struggling offensively, something that could lead the New York Yankees to flip Judge and Juan Soto in the batting order.

Soto has hit second every single game this season and is slashing .331/.441/.589 while Judge has been in the three-hole every single game and is hitting .197/.331/.393. 

When asked about shuffling the order, Aaron Boone said: "We'll see."

Despite Judge's struggles, the Yankees are 20-12 this season.