TAMPA, Fla. — Gerrit Cole said Juan Soto has the best feel for the strike zone of any player he’s ever come across. Aaron Judge called Soto “the greatest hitter out there.” Marcus Stroman said Soto will go down as one of the greatest players in MLB history.

On the day Soto was introduced to the media at the New York Yankees’ spring training complex two weeks ago, he sat at the podium proudly wearing a shirt that said “THE GENERATIONAL … JUAN SOTO.”

The expectations for Soto and the Yankees to deliver World Series title No. 28 are extremely high, especially because of the potential that this relationship may last for just one year. It’s too early to speculate on what might happen next offseason. Soto said he’s using this year to get to know the organization and see what playing in New York is like before deciding on his future.

The Athletic caught up with Soto last week to discuss his trade to New York, why he wishes he could have spent his entire career in Washington, his preferred lineup spot and more.

Questions and answers have been lightly edited for clarity.

Looking back on the offseason, when did getting traded become something you started thinking about?

I was always in touch with A.J. Preller, the GM. He was saying that he was just listening and wasn’t trying to make a move. I always tried to tell him to let me know if he’s gonna do anything. He always tried to keep it quiet and calm. As the days go on, the conversations were getting stronger and stronger. That’s when he told me that he was looking to trade me.

What was your initial reaction when it became a possibility that the Yankees were interested?

I mean, it’s always great. It was a great team and great organization. They have great people over there. When you hear good things and they’re trying to win, too, it just feels good. When they started talking about it, I was happy because it was another team that is going to have a chance to win a championship. I wasn’t that upset about it.

You started your career with the Washington Nationals. You won a title there. Looking back on that time, do you wish that you could have spent your entire career in Washington? 

Yeah, 100 percent. I never wanted to leave Washington. It was a great team. I knew everybody there, from the bottom all the way to the top. I was really comfortable and it felt like home for me. I was happy. I had a house in Washington. I was really comfortable up there. Out of nowhere, they made that decision. They thought it was the best thing for the team. I just respected it because they were really clear with me. That’s one of the things I really respected from (general manager Mike) Rizzo. He was really clear about the trade stuff. But definitely I never thought I was going to leave D.C. I was really thinking I was going to stay there for my whole career.

You’re 25. You’ve been traded twice and are now on your third team. It’s rare to have someone of your stature move as often as you have. Has it been challenging to bounce around? 

It’s been tough. I think the toughest part is getting to know everybody and making that place feel like home. That’s the most challenging thing about it. It is what it is. This is the business part of the game. The first time I got traded, it really hurt big time. I’ve said it before but I cried the whole morning. After that trade, I learned that this is a business. You just have to follow through with it and see what happens at the end of the day. It was hard. It was tough. But we’re here to keep grinding.

Why were you so emotional when you got traded from Washington to San Diego? 

That was the team that gave me a chance from when I was a little kid. They saw me when I was 15 years old. They saw me grow up. I grew through the organization. I felt the best in that organization. At the end of the day, they showed me that this is a business. We got to go through the business and learn from it.

Last season, you guys had a ton of talent in San Diego. Why do you feel like it didn’t click for you guys? 

It is what it is. We tried our best. A lot of our players had a good season, like incredible seasons. We had a lot of good players. I don’t know. It just happens. We grinded every day but it didn’t work out for us. It hurts because we know we were capable to do more stuff. At the end of the day, it didn’t work out and we couldn’t get back on track.

Do you look back and think what if? You guys were rolling at the end of the season. 

If we would’ve got into the playoff race, I think we would’ve had a chance to go all the way. It would’ve been a different vibe in the playoffs. We had the best players in the whole league. What team had more talent last year than the San Diego Padres? It was incredible. I think we would’ve had a really good shot to go all the way through the World Series.

You’ve had a good season every single year since you’ve been in the majors. Do you feel like hitting in front or even behind Judge could lead to your best season yet?

He’s an MVP-caliber player. Who doesn’t want to hit in front of Judge? That’s the best. You’re gonna get more chances to hit. You’re gonna get more pitches in the strike zone. I think it’s going to be great hitting in front of him, or even behind him. Even with the lineup we have, you hit in front of (Anthony) Rizzo, or Giancarlo (Stanton), you’re gonna get pitches to hit because who wants to face those guys? Those guys are huge players who’ve been in the league for a while. I feel like if you hit in any part of this lineup, you’re going to be fine.

I’ve seen some stories from last season that you prefer hitting third. Is that a thing? Do you still care? 

Hitting third is where I’ve hit my whole career. Hitting second was new for me. I’m still learning from it. Right now, I’m learning and trying to get it clicked in. I think it’s gonna be fine this year. This is gonna be my second season hitting in the second hole. I think it will be better than last year because last year, it felt really uncomfortable. I had never done it. I had done it a little bit with Washington but it didn’t feel the same. I’m getting more comfortable.

When you look across the league, most of the best hitters are hitting second now. What is the difference between hitting second and third? 

It’s a different feeling for me. I think it’s just because it’s new. If you ask me right now, I don’t care. If you asked me last year when it was new for me, I didn’t know how it was going to be. I definitely would’ve told you I love to hit third instead of second. It was a different feeling for me. It’s just like changing a position. It’s the same thing. You come from the minor leagues playing right field your whole career and then they made me move to left field. I wasn’t gonna feel comfortable. With time, you get used to it and you get better at it.

Is it a matter of just seeing more pitches? Because you’re someone who usually sees lots of pitches in every at-bat. 

I don’t know. I try to do the same thing when I’m hitting third or second. It should be the same thing. I just feel like pitchers are sometimes more careful when you’re hitting second rather than third.

Your contract situation is going to be a huge storyline this season. How is that something that you don’t think about?  

I just believe in Scott (Boras, his agent). He’s been with me since I was a little kid and been helping me out with everything. He’s been helping me go through these kinds of things without any worry. Scotty has everything on his hands. I trust him to death. I just come here and play baseball.

You’re going to get life-changing, generational money next offseason. Have you envisioned the possibility of becoming the sport’s highest-paid player? 

As a kid, you never think about money. You always think about playing baseball. It was always my mindset. I never had a problem with money. I was thinking about playing baseball and being prepared to do my best in baseball. You’re never worried about anything. When you’re a kid, you don’t give a f— about hitting third or second. All I ever wanted to do was play baseball, make the big leagues, make my family proud and my country proud. Those were the only things I was thinking about. I never thought about being the highest-paid player in the game.

When you look around this clubhouse, do you think this team has enough to win it all? 

You tell me. You look around at what we have. We have everything we need. We have players who have proven themselves in the big leagues already. They know what they have to do to win games. I think we’re in a good spot because we have really good young talent.

There’s a massive Dominican community in the Bronx. What do you think that moment is going to be like on April 5th when you see countless Dominican flags in the stands and thousands of fans screaming for you?  

I think it’s going to be great. It’s going to be really exciting. It’s going to be unbelievable. It’s going to feel like the World Baseball Classic every night.