The Boston Red Sox are still making every effort to get free agent Juan Soto to visit Fenway Park.
Joining teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, and New York Mets, Boston threw itself into the running this summer. Craig Breslow, the chief baseball officer, and a number of other team affiliates met with Soto for three hours in November in order to make their first pitch to the 26-year-old.
The Red Sox may not be finished expressing their opinions just yet, though.
“The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier reported Thursday that the Red Sox have indicated interest in holding another meeting where (Scott) Boras and Soto would determine a price that would close a deal.” “Whether such a meeting has been or will be granted is unknown.”
Many think Soto is ready to decide on a destination before the MLB Winter Meetings conclude next week, and he may decide before the action begins in Dallas on Sunday. So far, no teams have been disqualified. Given that Shohei Ohtani postponed a portion of his $700 million Los Angeles Dodgers contract, the predicted contract amounts could surpass $600 million, making the offseason’s most sought-after commodity the highest-paid player in MLB in terms of annual compensation.
This meeting request ought to be persuasive enough if the earlier indications—such as Boston’s initial meeting with Soto, its alleged interest in other names throughout the league, or David Ortiz’s campaign work—were not. From the beginning of the offseason, there were rumors that the Red Sox were prepared to open their checkbooks. Actually, one of the people endorsing Boston in November was Boras, Soto’s agent.
Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reported that Boras shared, “During our discussions, the Red Sox have made it clear that ownership is committed to acquiring top-tier talent and intends to be highly active in the free-agent market.”
Getting Soto’s camp to approve the next step would be a significant move that might finalize the deal for Boston. That would be premature, but nothing to far has indicated that the Red Sox are unwilling to go above and beyond to position themselves to compete with the league’s high rollers.
Can the Red Sox outperform their first presentation and win the decisive handshake? Boston’s first encounter was reported to have “impressed” Soto. The next few days should reveal.
