Minnesota Twins v Seattle Mariners / Ben VanHouten/Seattle Mariners/GettyImages

Just like the man he’s replacing on the Yankees’ airwaves in John Sterling, Seattle announcing legend and radio voice of the Yanks Dave Sims wants to see Juan Soto stick around in a community that’s embraced him. He’d also like him to worry a little bit less about his finances.

Sims was welcomed to New York by the gang from Foul Territory on Friday, and made his pitch to Soto to stick around with the AL Champs in the City That Never Sleeps. After all, calling Aaron Judge is one thing, but announcing a Judge-Soto duo is life-changing.

Sims’ pitch centered around all the things that made Soto’s first (and hopefully not only) year in New York great: proximity to his family, a vibrant Dominican community that worshipped his every step in the city, and a lineup that will always compete.

Of course, Sims did tip his hand that Soto might want to prioritize the comforts of the Yankees over chasing every last dollar with, say, the other New York team, stating, “If you’re happy, you could live with $600 million or $500 million or whatever the hell it is. You don’t have to have the absolute most money.”

Yankees announcer Dave Sims wants Juan Soto in pinstripes

While that’s true, it’s worth noting that the Mets appeared to be pretty damned happy last season, too, even though Soto would have to get acclimated to their particular brand of joy. The Red Sox don’t seem as happy as they were 20 years ago, and no amount of video footage of David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez will get them penciled back into the lineup.

The only problem? We’ve been relying on, “It’s the New York Yankees, dude, come on now,” that it’s officially no longer the New York Yankees, dude. They’re title-free since 2009. They just fell flat in their first World Series since they captured their last ring.

Soto is a part of the solution, not the problem, and helped set the Yankees on the proper path last season. At this point, though, he’s got better priorities than the franchise did before him. He might be willing to bet that a Yankees-esque “winning tradition” will follow him no matter where he goes, and he might be right.

Also, “What’s $100 million anyway if you’re not happy?” may be a valid argument, but as Sims acknowledged, that probably doesn’t mean much to Soto and Boras these days, who’ve been very clear about their desire to set a precedent.

Soto certainly seemed happy with Judge behind him in New York last summer, and all indications are he’d like to return if the Yankees can get close to the top tier. But they’ll certainly need to get closer than a difference of $100 million, as noble as that sentiment sounds.