MINNEAPOLIS — 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.

“We’d like to see him here for the rest of his career. I don’t think there’s any doubt in that. His agent, Scott, doesn’t tend to do deals in the middle of the season. Neither do I. I think it can be a distraction,” Steinbrenner said in the interview. “But as I said in spring training … this is a unique situation and a very unique player, so I wouldn’t be shocked if there was a conversation or two had possibly during the course of a season. I think it’s worth doing at some point.”

Soto is batting .302 with 9 home runs, 34 RBIs and a .920 OPS in 45 games. He signed a $31 million, one-year contract to avoid salary arbitration after San Diego sent him and outfielder Trent Grisham to New York in a payroll-paring trade in December for catcher Kyle Higashioka and four pitchers.

Asked about Steinbrenner’s comments Thursday after the Yankees finished a sweep of the Minnesota Twins, Soto said his “door has always been open” to doing a new deal before the fall but stressed that he’s simply trying to prioritize playing well and fitting in.

“They know the phone number and everything. They know where to call. For me right here, I’m focusing on playing baseball. My thing is try to help the team win,” Soto said.

Soto in 2022 turned down a 15-year, $440 million offer from the Washington Nationals, betting he’d get a better deal as a free agent after the 2024 season. The Nationals dealt him to the Padres that summer.

Steinbrenner said in the interview with YES that he wanted to give Soto space to get comfortable before broaching the contract subject with his camp.

“Let’s focus on 2024, most importantly, winning a championship this year,” Steinbrenner said.

Soto said he appreciated that. But maybe not as much as having Judge, the 2022 American League MVP, batting behind him.

The Yankees outscored the Twins 14-1 and outhit them 35-14 in the series. Judge’s on-base-plus-slugging percentage surged from .860 to .948 over the last two games when he went 6-for-7 with a homer, 5 doubles and 2 walks. Soto didn’t enjoy as much success in the series, going 2-for-11 with 3 runs, 2 walks and 5 strikeouts.

“They pitched him tough, got him a little bit, but that’s why guys don’t hit .500,” manager Aaron Boone said. “It happens in a given series, and he’ll lock it in real quick.”

LOS ANGELES — The first Shohei Ohtani bobblehead giveaway snarled traffic outside Dodger Stadium on Thursday and created long lines for eager fans.

Cars snaked the roadways around Chavez Ravine and stadium parking lots were filling up quickly two hours before the Los Angeles Dodgers hosted the Cincinnati Reds. A line of fans waited on the sidewalk outside the main gate before it opened.

“Shohei creates a stir,” manager Dave Roberts said before the game. “I can’t imagine what it’s like outside. It’s great for Shohei and it’s good for the Dodgers.”

Only the first 40,000 fans were to receive the bobblehead, which depicts a smiling Ohtani with his bat perched above his left shoulder. The box’s design features Japanese anime.

The giveaway attracted a sellout crowd of 53,527 — the largest in the majors this season and the most at Dodger Stadium since Sept. 20, 2019.

“Just overall a very nice setting to have a lot of fans in the stands,” Ohtani said through an interpreter after going 0-for-2 with a walk in Thursday’s 7-2 loss. “I’m very appreciative that they all came tonight.”

On eBay, the Ohtani giveaway was being offered for $150 and up with sellers advertising it as new in the box. As a surprise, 1,700 road gray jersey bobbleheads were randomly mixed in with the giveaway. One was listed for $2,300 on eBay.

“It’s going to be a hot-ticket item,” Roberts said. “The more I see him every day the more I realize how special of a person and a ballplayer he is.”

Game tickets were going from $168 to $388 with fees included on StubHub.

Roberts and the rest of the Dodgers didn’t need to worry about getting their hands on the souvenir. Boxes were set in each player’s locker before the game.

“I get one for each bobblehead night,” Roberts said, “so I’ve got quite the collection.”

The Dodgers have scheduled three other Ohtani giveaways this season to mark his first year with the team after spending six seasons in Anaheim with the Angels. They will offer a hat, a second bobblehead and a shirt.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Rimas Sports, the agency founded by recording artist Bad Bunny, has accused the Major League Baseball Players Association of “placing a death penalty” on the agency through “a discriminatory, biased, and pre-determined investigation” into Rimas’ business practices, according to a federal lawsuit the company filed Thursday.

On April 10, the MLBPA decertified Rimas agent William Arroyo and prevented Rimas executives Noah Assad and Jonathan Miranda from seeking certification after accusing the agency of providing improper benefits to players. Additionally, Rimas’ other MLBPA-certified agent, Michael Velasquez, was threatened with decertification and quit the company, according to the lawsuit.

In a 27-page complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Puerto Rico, Rimas sought a temporary restraining order and injunction against the penalties levied by the union, which the company argued were “designed to put Rimas Sports permanently out of business.” The suit alleged that the MLBPA had “exceeded the scope of its statutory authority under the National Labor Relations Act” by extending sanctions on individuals to what amounts to the whole of the company. Rimas employees were previously denied a temporary restraining order to continue doing business, and, the complaint said, relief is warranted from overreach by the MLBPA that extends to the entire company.

“By blanketly prohibiting any MLBPA certified agents from affiliating with Rimas Sports and Rimas Entertainment in any capacity,” the complaint said, “the MLBPA has effectively placed a death-penalty sanction on Rimas Sports as an agency and prohibited Rimas Entertainment, which is not in the sports agency business and has never had a MLBPA Certified Agent, from contracting with clients who may wish to secure branding, sponsorship or endorsement deals. These restrictions extend well beyond the scope of the MLBPA’s authority to regulate its agents.”

The MLBPA declined comment through a spokesperson.

Rimas previously sought relief from the sanctions on Arroyo, Assad and Miranda through an arbitrator, who denied the effort. The American Arbitration Association will determine the appeal of their individual penalties, which were filed before a May 10 deadline.

The effect on Rimas as a whole, the complaint argued, goes far deeper. Rimas argued that the sanctions have caused the company “irreparable harm,” citing the union’s prevention of certified agents from working with Rimas; a note sent from MLB to teams warning them not to deal with Rimas employees; and the unwillingness of third parties to engage with the company.

As examples, Rimas cited an inability to continue negotiating a contract extension for New York Mets catcher Francisco Álvarez as well as losing the opportunity to sign reigning National League MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. as a client due to the penalties. Topps, the baseball card brand owned by Fanatics — in which the MLBPA has invested — “notified Rimas Sports that because of the MLBPA’s prohibitions that they cannot speak with Rimas Sports marketing, endorsement, and sponsorship deals, such as one for Ronald Acuña,” according to the complaint.

Rimas Sports, which was started in 2021 by Assad, Miranda and Benito Martínez Ocasio — the international recording superstar known as Bad Bunny — aimed to cater to players from Latin America and quickly built a list of clients that included Álvarez, Mets prospect Ronny Mauricio and Colorado shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, for whom the agency negotiated a seven-year, $63.5 million contract extension. Other agents accused Rimas of paying players to join the agency, which would run afoul of MLBPA regulations. While Assad and Miranda sought MLBPA certification, Martínez, according to the complaint, remains “a semi-passive investor.”

While the lawsuit does not address the substance of the MLBPA’s disciplinary action against Rimas employees, it suggests that the union and others believed “these Puerto Rican ‘outsiders’ were disrupting baseball sports agency order too much, too fast. This was something that the MLBPA and Rimas Sports’ competitors would not allow.”

About a year before the completion of the MLBPA’s investigation and its decision, entertainment attorneys Oswaldo Rossi, John Baldivia and Jimmy Barnes sought union certification, according to the complaint. In a letter from an MLBPA lawyer, the complaint said, they were told their “certifications will be conditioned on your agreement not to work for or with Rimas Sports, represent Rimas Sports clients” — an “unprecedented condition imposed on them [that] is not part of the MLBPA Regulations.”

“The MLBPA knew, or should have known, that such actions have caused and will continue to cause severe and agency-killing harm to the Rimas Companies,” the complaint continued. “In fact, the intended effect of the MLBPA’s actions was precisely to eliminate the Rimas Companies from participating altogether in the sports agency market for MLB and MiLB players.”