Desperate Red Sox have taken to tax brackets in chaotic pursuit of Juan Soto

The Boston Red Sox are in heavy pursuit of Juan Soto. Not only would the Red Sox add a new face of the franchise to pair with Rafael Devers, but they would be stealing the talented Soto away from the rival New York Yankees. It is a win-win, and the winds appear to be blowing in Boston's direction for now, if only to increase the Yankees and Mets offers – such are the ways of an intense negotiation.

Randy Miller of NJ.com turned the Soto chase on its head this weekend, suggesting the Yankees were preparing to lose the slugging outfielder, and that the Red Sox and Mets were now frontrunners. Miller is a respected reporter, but the Soto camp is rightly keeping his intentions close to the vest, much like Shohei Ohtani did just last winter.

The truth is we don't know much about the inner-workings of the Soto negotiations, and we won't until after he signs and releases such information in a tell-all to a group of reporters.

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That hasn't stopped those on the MLB pundit periphery from releasing their rumblings on reported offers to Soto, with the Red Sox being front and center. Assuming these reports are true comes with inherited risk, and sets fans up for a massive letdown eventually. Still, Boston fans have to like what they're hearing, even if it's not 100 percent true.

Red Sox reddit is an interesting place right now. I recommend checking it out, even for a laugh or two. One user recently posted some IRS numbers he believes give the Red Sox an edge, as Soto would take home more of his paycheck playing the majority of his games in Boston, rather than New York. Of course, baseball players' actual pay is much more complicated than that. Where they live – and how many games they play in other states – can dramatically impact how much money they make.

Baseball fans have a tendency to get in the weeds. This is a classic case. While Soto surely cares about his bottom line, if he likes playing in New York more than Boston, he'll take the hit. It doesn't rank too high on the pecking order of Soto's priority given he's going to make a ton of money either way.

Still, it can't hurt, I guess.