Aaron Judge hasn’t directly recruited Juan Soto back to the Yankees so far this winter, but he has had conversations with owner Hal Steinbrenner about what Soto meant to the lineup this year.

Judge, who won the second American League Most Valuable Player Award of his career on Thursday night, spoke to reporters in a conference call on Friday afternoon.

The Yankees’ captain revealed that to this point, he and Soto haven’t communicated at all since the end of the World Series. He was hoping to connect with Soto during the MVP announcement show on MLB Network Thursday night — Soto was also a finalist, finishing third in the race for the award — but the superstar free agent didn’t attend.

“I haven’t talked to him at all,” Judge said. “I think the best thing is to really give those guys space. I talk to them all season, and he knows how we feel about him. I think the most important thing is now to let him do his thing with his family, pray about it, talk with people and come to the right decision for him and his family.”

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What Judge has done, however, is articulate to Steinbrenner what Soto brought to the heart of the Yankees’ lineup. It goes beyond the obvious, as much as he also joked that if he could have eight other Juan Soto’s in the starting lineup with him, he’d love it.

“I went down to Tampa for about a week right after the season and met with him,” Judge said of Steinbrenner. “We discussed a lot of things from Juan to other guys that are out there that I think could definitely help this team. I kind of just gave him my input on a couple things.”

Steinbrenner went through this process two years ago with Judge, spending $360 million to keep Judge in pinstripes. With Soto expected to sign a contract worth more than $600 million — if not $700 million — Judge won’t be the highest-paid Yankee if Soto comes back.

Asked if that would bother Judge, he said he didn’t mind in the slightest.

“Honestly, it ain’t my money,” Judge said with a chuckle. “I really don’t care. As long as we we get the best players and we get the most that we can, I’m happy with whatever. That’s never been something on my mind about who gets paid the most. Whatever we can do to get the best players, I’ll take it.”

Soto reportedly wants to establish a close connection with the owner of the team he signs his deal with in free agency this winter. He and Steinbrenner didn’t interact very much during this past season. The Yankees’ owner explained that he didn’t want to bother Soto, not wanting to take the outfielder out of his zone at the ballpark. When Steinbrenner and the Yankees met with Soto earlier this week, it was conveyed from the owner to the superstar that he’ll be treated like Judge, Gerrit Cole and the other leaders in the Yankees’ clubhouse moving forward should he re-sign this winter.

Considering Soto is undoubtedly prioritizing winning in his decision — sustained contention beyond the first few years of his deal — it can’t hurt that Steinbrenner would be open to having that same type of relationship with him as he does with Judge. It also would mean that Soto will be able to provide his input on decisions. Judge praised Steinbrenner, referencing the owner’s commitment to making the team better while listening to Judge’s recommendations and questions throughout the year.

“He’s constantly wanting to meet, wanting to talk, wanting to get a pulse and check on the team and what’s going on. I think it’s pretty cool to see that as an owner,” Judge said. “My first couple years I really I didn’t talk to him much, but now to build this relationship and see how much he cares about this organization, this team, from top to bottom, it shows why we continue to be in the position that we’re in.”

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Max Goodman may be reached at [email protected].