The last many offseasons led many jaded Boston Red Sox to believe their favorite team wouldn't be a serious contender for outfielder Juan Soto when he hit the open market this winter.
Red Sox ownership has been committed to cutting payroll for multiple years, and Soto's contract won't come cheap. But recent reports suggest Boston's chance of landing the star is better than most of Red Sox Nation imagined.
The Red Sox are one of the four teams that had a meeting scheduled with Soto this week, alongside the Blue Jays, Mets and Yankees. The outfielder has been courting potential future teams in southern California, and his meeting with Boston allegedly lasted three hours.
Soto grew up a Red Sox fan and idolized the team's three Dominican stars from the 2000s — Manny Ramírez, Pedro Martínez and David Ortiz, his current neighbor. Ortiz couldn't attend Boston's meeting with Soto, but he's been a frequent presence in his life. The Hall of Famer told WEEI's Rob Bradford he was laughing with Soto's mother and brother about incorrect free agency rumors the other day.
David Ortiz: Juan Soto is the one guy who could be Boston's next David Ortiz https://t.co/Hcr8ugj9in #RedSox pic.twitter.com/b4ThoRKjKg
— WEEI (@WEEI) November 15, 2024
Just a connection to Ortiz won't pull Soto to Boston — Ortiz and the Red Sox organization know it. But Ortiz has rattled off praises for the 26-year-old, and reports suggest the Sox are pursuing generational talent seriously. It's shocking news to Red Sox Nation, which has only seen the front office try to cut costs since 2019.
But the Red Sox organization has more World Series titles than any other team in the past two decades. Boston knows what it takes to win, and it's always had stars like Soto on the payroll as part of its recipe for success.
The Red Sox had a 'productive' three-hour meeting with star free agent Juan Soto
"If there is a guy I would like to build a team around, it would have to be Juan Soto," Ortiz said. "Juan Soto speaks Spanish and he speaks English so he can communicate with both American and Latin players. He has that good vibe. I tell you what, the Yankees went that far this year because of him. He changed everything for them there."
Soto did post an outstanding walk year with the Yankees, and he was a huge reason they made it all the way to the Fall Classic. He slashed .288/.419/.569 with a .988 OPS and a career-high 41 homers in 157 regular season games and he batted .327/.469/.633 in October as New York's most reliable source of offense. He singlehandedly secured the Yankees' World Series spot with his three-run homer in extra innings of ALCS Game 5 against Cleveland.
It should be noted that Red Sox owner John Henry was not present at the Red Sox's meeting with Soto, and no dollar figure was discussed between the two parties. But if recent reports are to be believed, the meeting was a success, which could bode well for a second chat.
It seems like the Red Sox are seriously pursuing Soto, which may be the best offseason news Boston fans have heard in quite some time. He'll still be a difficult get, and likely one of the highest-paid players of all time when free agency is all said and done, but it means something to be so prominently in the mix for the slugger.