Red Sox want another meeting with Juan Soto to see what ‘would get a deal done’
The Red Sox may not land Juan Soto, but they’re making a serious run at trying to land the generational star.
Boston is looking to gain some clarity on Soto’s decision with the slugger’s sweepstakes entering the final stages.
Reports are swirling that the 26-year-old has started to eliminate teams and could make a decision as soon as this coming weekend. With the potential of a decision coming down the pipeline, the Red Sox are looking to get another meeting with Soto and his agent, Scott Boras, according to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.
Speier, who cites big league sources, reported that Boston remains in the mix for Soto, with one source noting the club has upped their offer to $600 million in recent days.
Even with the Red Sox showing the willingness to hand out the largest deal in franchise history, the Mets’ lingering around has teams feeling some angst.
“The Mets and owner Steve Cohen loom large,” Speier wrote. “The Sox are aware of rumors that Cohen told Boras he would go $50 million beyond any other team’s highest offer. Whether accurate or not, the perception of Cohen’s willingness to spend to such heights lords over the bidding and how teams approach it.
“For that reason, the Red Sox have expressed interest in an additional meeting in which Boras and Soto would identify a price that would get a deal done. It’s unknown if such a meeting has been or will be granted.”
Cohen has the ability to outbid any team with his deep pockets, but it’s not known if Soto is leaning towards making a decision to play in Queens for the remainder of his career.
Soto’s old team, the Yankees, is also still pushing hard to re-sign the superstar, but there’s a chance the Bronx Bombers aren’t going to get any special treatment in the sweepstakes.
“I don’t know that the Yankees get any preferential treatment here, if that’s what you’re implying,” Rosenthal said on “Foul Territory.”“I think this is going to be the highest bidder, and the highest bidder, in most everyone’s opinion in this industry, stands to be the New York Mets. Not saying it’s going to happen that way.
“I’ve repeated many times that free agency is a wild scenario. A lot of things can happen. So Cohen seems to be the guy with the deepest pockets, right? That is why the Mets have been considered the favorite, but maybe Soto takes a liking to Boston. Maybe he really wants to be a Yankee. Maybe the Blue Jays blow us all away. I don’t know.”
If the Red Sox get another meeting with Soto and Boras, it’s not a guarantee the deal gets finalized. It’s likely Boras takes the Red Sox offer to other teams to try and squeeze even more out of teams before Soto makes his monumental decision.
