Red Sox one of seven teams that have checked in on free agent slugger Juan Soto
The Red Sox are one of seven teams that has “called on” free agent slugger Juan Soto, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman.
Soto, the former Nationals, Padres, and Yankees star, is represented by Scott Boras, is the top free agent bat on the market, and “could command close to $700M,” per Heyman.
In addition to the Red Sox, the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Blue Jays, Giants, and Rays have all called Boras about Soto.
Word is they (the Red Sox) are quietly laying the groundwork to begin spending and competing again after completely laying low for years,” Heyman reported.
The Red Sox have not been aggressive players in free agency the last handful of off-seasons, and it remains to be seen if they’ll finally spend big this winter on a high-end addition.
“I think it feels different. I think it should feel different,” chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said about this offseason at the GM Meetings in San Antonio. “I know a lot more about the organization. I think we know a lot more about our players. And so being better informed allows us to make better decisions. Ultimately, our goal is to deliver to the fans a team that is capable of winning the World Series every year. And we are approaching this offseason that way.”
The Red Sox only gave out $52.25 million in free agency last season, spending on Lucas Giolito ($38.5M), Liam Hendriks ($10M), Joely Rodriguez ($1.5M), Chase Anderson ($1.25M), and Cooper Criswell ($1M).
“Without getting kind of into specifics, I think we have to be open to improving our team, and I don’t think we’ve been shy about the fact that our position player group is further ahead than our pitching group,” Breslow said. “And so as it relates to upgrades, it will require really elite talent in order to upgrade the position player group in certain instances. So we’ll kind of focus our attention appropriately. But we’re going to engage. We’re going to explore anything that we think makes us better.”
Boston could finally spend big in free agency after years of lackluster free agency performances. Boston Globe’s Alex Speier recently completed a Q&A session on Reddit and thinks the Sox will spend.
"The team's urgency is such that I'd expect there to be a $100M+ deal this winter," Speier replied.
The word “urgency” in his statement comes from the Red Sox end-of-season press conference where Alex Cora, Sam Kennedy, and Breslow used strong language to describe their aggressiveness this winter.
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Obviously, the Red Sox are not going to sign Juan Soto and can best hope to get him out of the AL East (not that it matters so much anymore with the balanced schedule). Outfielders we have. It is pitchers we lack.