It’s become increasingly clear that what began as a fun summer for the Red Sox will now peter out into a sad fall, as Boston has slipped to 4.0 games back in the wild-card chase. It’s not over, of course, but this team just does not have the pitching to keep up with the rest of the American League, not with the inexperience from its best starters combined with the spate of injuries the team suffered in recent months.
But there is a lot to be excited about here going forward, maybe even enough to warrant the notably stingy Red Sox ownership group to open the checkbook and pay a player or two in the coming months. It is expected to be a deep and talented crop of free agents in the 2024-25 offseason, and with the promise shown by the Red Sox as an offense—as well as with a crop of young talent ready to blossom—the future at Fenway finally looks bright.
The expectation is that the Red Sox will look to bolster its pitching staff in free agency this winter, but we can’t help but note that ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan at least has the Red Sox as a potential suitor for the biggest name on the books: Yankees slugger Juan Soto.
Red Sox Considered a ‘Long Shot’
OK, to be fair, Passan calls the Red Sox a “long shot,” writing, that, in the end, Soto will command a contract worth at least $500 million after a season in which he is batting .294 with a .424 on-base percentage and a .595 slugging percentage. He has 37 home runs and 95 RBIs on the year. Realistically, as Passan notes, the battle for Soto will come down to the Mets and Yankees.
But, well maybe the Red Sox get in on that $500 million offer …
“It will go higher, though, and when it does, that number will frighten away a vast majority of teams,” Passan wrote. “Some of them could afford it; many will choose not to. This is the history of free agency. There are ultimately at most a handful of spenders for the biggest free agents. In Soto’s case, the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs and both Los Angeles teams could likely afford him but are long shots to make a real push.”
At this point, given the Red Sox’s recent history of penny-pinching, we’ll take a longshot chance. We’ll even be impressed if they make an offer at all.
Juan Soto Could Fetch $530 Million
At Spotrac, the contract analysis site, the projection on Soto goes well beyond $500 million—it’s up to $530 million, which site editor Mike Ginnitti points out is the highest in the history of the site’s algorithm.
That’s too rich for the Red Sox’s blood. Besides, if they’re going to be a spender in 2024-25, wouldn’t it be better for them to go after, say, Corbin Burnes of the Orioles? Or Blake Snell of the Giants.
Of course, rumors about Soto and the Mets have been cropping up since the spring, once it became clear that Soto would not be signing a contract extension with the Yankees and would hit free agency. The Yankees gave up a strong package to get Soto, along with Trent Grisham, for Jhony Brito, Kyle Higashioka, Michael King, Drew Thorpe and Randy Vásquez.
Losing him with nothing coming in return would painful for the Yankees.
Back in March, Jon Heyman of the New York Post raised the possibility of the Mets landing Soto. He wrote, “Folks around the game are suggesting that after a year on practical free-agent hiatus, Steve Cohen’s Mets may become the biggest competitor for Soto’s services. (I first wrote about this possibility Dec. 7, and whispers are getting louder, so it’s worth repeating.)”
That’s likely where things stand. But it’s nice for the Red Sox to be considered, even as a longshot.
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Red Sox a Potential Suitor in $530 Million Juan Soto Sweepstakes: ESPN