MLB insider Jon Morosi reported just after midnight on Nov. 26 that the five teams interested in Juan Soto have extended offers to his team.
The Boston Red Sox are in the mix, as much of the early reporting suggests they'd be. But, in recent years, the "offer" phase of courting a free agent is usually where the Red Sox implode.
Boston hasn't made a competitive offer to a top-tier free agent in years, let alone anything near what Soto demands. However, a player like Soto hasn't hit the open market in multiple seasons — or maybe ever — and every team in the market for the slugger expects to hand him a check for many hundreds of millions.
The Sox will have to beat out the Dodgers, Mets, Yankees and Blue Jays if they want Soto in Boston. Most reporters have either New York squad as the favorite to land the 26-year-old, and it'll be hard to beat Steve Cohen and his seemingly endless riches. The Dodgers could also be a dark horse contender. Sure, they just spent a billion dollars last offseason, but the promise of playing the rest of Soto's career on a superteam has to have some serious pull.
The Red Sox and four other teams have made their preliminary offers to Juan Soto
Juan Soto reportedly has offers from 5 teams currently: Red Sox, Dodgers, Mets, Yankees and Blue Jays.#MLBNHotStove pic.twitter.com/UaSt2pjUYS
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 26, 2024
The Red Sox seem to be relying on their connections to Soto to lure him into considering Boston. The Dominican native grew up a Red Sox fan and David Ortiz has a personal friendship with him and his family. But "Coach Papi," as the legend refers to himself, won't be enough to get Soto in a Sox uniform long-term. Luckily, John Henry has plenty of money to do it, and he should be in the thick of the race until the end to show Red Sox Nation they're serious contenders.
The reports suggest these are the five teams' first offers to Soto, so they need to be good but can't blow him away. There is still plenty of negotiating to be done, and many estimate that the former Washington Nationals prospect could become one of the highest-paid players of all time.
A 10-year, $550 million offer should be enough to keep the Red Sox in the mix past the first round of offers and discussions. Many reporters expect the outfielder to net a similar deal to Shohei Ohtani's 10-year, $700 million blockbuster with the Dodgers from last offseason.
The Red Sox haven't spent as much as they could've in recent years, and it's shown in their pool of talent and the product on the field. Rafael Devers is the team's only "real" star, and if Boston wants to sign Soto, it'll have to prove it's willing to do anything to win. A huge bid for Soto may be the best way to do that before the Sox make any other offseason moves.