At their year-end press conference in late September, members of Red Sox leadership said the wait had gone on long enough, and the time to get back in the game was now.
It was a more pronounced statement of intent than in recent offseasons, but after “full throttle”-gate last year, team president and CEO Sam Kennedy acknowledged that the club needed to follow through with meaningful action.
They appear to be making an effort to follow through on that declaration. According to MLB insiders Jeff Passan (ESPN) and Jon Heyman (New York Post), the Red Sox are among the teams meeting with free-agent superstar Juan Soto and his powerhouse agent, Scott Boras, in southern California this week.
The Yankees, who traded for Soto’s final year of club control from the Padres last offseason, and Mets are considered his most likely landing spots. The Mets are on Soto’s schedule, and Yankees manager Aaron Boone confirmed that his team has a meeting as well. Soto’s dance card also includes the Blue Jays, who lost out on Shohei Ohtani last offseason, Dodgers, Giants, and two “mystery teams.”
Red Sox 2024-25 Offseason Tracker: Options, qualifying offers, arbitration, free agents, rumors
Unlike the Rays, another interested party, the Red Sox can afford to sign Soto, who’s projected to sign for upwards of $600 million over a minimum of 10 years. It would be the largest non-deferred deal in MLB history by far, but thanks to several scrimpy seasons, the Red Sox have more than enough financial flexibility in the immediate and distant future to accommodate such a large contract. Since winning the 2018 World Series, they’ve only committed to two free-agent contracts in excess of $50 million, Trevor Story (2022) and Masataka Yoshida (2023).
It would, however, be close to or more than triple the largest free-agent spend in franchise history – David Price’s $217 million over seven years – and nearly double the price tag on Rafael Devers’ franchise-record $313.5MM deal.
Yet while the Red Sox’s effort with Soto signals a promising return to form for the club, they’re more likely to spend big on a marquee starting pitcher, a more pressing need. They have an abundance of young outfield talent on their Major League roster in Wilyer Abreu, Jarren Duran, and Ceddanne Rafaela, as well as Roman Anthony, the No. 1 overall prospect in the game, in Triple-A.
Keep up with every Red Sox offseason update on the Boston Herald's 2024-25 tracker!
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