Exclusive | Hal Steinbrenner quickly sets up Yankees own Juan Soto plan after Mets schedule visit

Hal Steinbrenner will not go down without a flight.It is not just Mets owner Steve Cohen who is planning a trip to Southern California to see Juan Soto and Scott Boras.The Yankees owner is expected to fly out for a visit with the superstar free agent and his agent in about a week and a half, industry sources said Friday.The exact date for the sitdown was not immediately clear, but more clear was the fact the Yankees were assured of a talk with Soto after the Mets have theirs.Cohen is set to make the trip to Soto and Boras next week, sources told The Post on Thursday, in an attempt to lure the slugger to Queens.

The billionaire behemoths have begun the fight for one of the most enticing baseball free agents ever — a battle that surely will include much of the rest of the league but could come down to the New York powers.Soto, of course, knows the Yankees well after spending this past season in The Bronx, where he was not just brilliant but immediately beloved.He was a fan favorite, fit in well in the clubhouse and performed as advertised at the plate, where he posted a .989 OPS with 41 home runs in 157 games while conducting the most entertaining at-bats in the game.Cohen and presumably other owners across the league will have introductory meetings; Steinbrenner will make sure a familiar voice is heard, too.“Since [Soto] knows us, we are standing ready to meet with him if he feels it necessary to meet with us,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said this week at the GM meetings.

“He understands the landscape of opportunities that now exist for himself.He’s played in San Diego.

He’s played in Washington.Now he’s played here.

So we are more than willing to meet as many times as he would like to meet.”Boras has other top free agents on the market who could warrant a chat with Steinbrenner, but there is no one available like Soto.A generational hitter who turned just 26 last month — and who partnered with Aaron Judge to carry the Yankees to the...