While the Red Sox emerged as unexpected contenders for the services of free agent Juan Soto, the slugger won’t be taking his talents to Boston.
According to multiple reports, the 26-year-old superstar agreed to terms with the Mets on a landmark 15-year deal worth $765 million, a deal that is the largest in the history of professional sports. Soto’s decision to play for the Mets left his other suitors — known to include the Yankees, Blue Jays, Dodgers, and Red Sox — looking for alternate paths to upgrade.
The Red Sox’ involvement in the Soto sweepstakes came as a surprise. Though Sox officials vowed at the conclusion of the 2024 campaign that it was time to move aggressively with the goal of winning the American League East and competing for titles, the team’s clearest needs were to add a front-of-the-rotation starter, rebuild the bullpen, and add righthanded balance to the lineup. Soto would have accomplished none of those things.
Still, Soto — whose deal will not become official until he passes a physical — represented such a rare free agent that the Sox made what industry sources characterized as a significant push to try to land him. A delegation of team officials — chairman Tom Werner, president/CEO Sam Kennedy, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, and manager Alex Cora — met with Soto and agent Scott Boras on Nov. 14.
Soto’s excellence from the moment he reached the big leagues as a teenager is in some ways unprecedented in baseball history, as he is the only player to have seven seasons with an OPS+ of 140 or better through his age-25 season.
A delegation of team officials — chairman Tom Werner, president/CEO Sam Kennedy, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, and manager Alex Cora — met with Soto and agent Scott Boras on Nov. 14. Other team dignitaries, notably including David Ortiz, also made the case for Soto to join the team. And the Sox remained in the middle of a historic bidding war.
According to multiple major league sources, the team’s bidding surpassed $600 million last week and in recent days passed the $700 million threshold — more than the $660 million the team’s owners paid when buying the Sox and 80 percent of NESN in 2001.
That remarkable level of interest represented a level of excellence from the moment he reached the big leagues as a teenager that is in some ways unprecedented in baseball history. Soto is the only player to have seven seasons with an OPS+ of 140 or better through his age-25 season.
Soto is a four-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger who played a key role in the Nationals’ World Series win in 2019 and proved a pivotal contributor in the Yankees' AL pennant victory in 2024. After the Yankees acquired him in a trade from the Padres last offseason, Soto collaborated with Aaron Judge to create a terrifying top of the order. Soto hit .288/.419/.569 with 41 homers, 109 RBIs, and an AL-leading 128 runs, resulting in his fourth career finish in the top six of MVP voting.
He’s one of nine players to reach the 200-homer plateau before turning 26. He has a .285/.421/.532 career line, with his .421 on-base leading the big leagues since his debut in 2018, his .532 slugging mark ranking fourth, and his .953 OPS second to Judge. Among players with at least 3,000 plate appearances through their age-25 seasons, Soto’s .953 OPS is the seventh-best of all time, trailing only Jimmie Foxx, Albert Pujols, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Mike Trout, and Mel Ott.
That performance — and the notion that Soto has plenty of prime-age seasons remaining — led to a record-setting bidding process that involved many of the financial powerhouses in baseball.
Without Soto, the Sox are expected to compete for other elite talents. They are expected to continue the pursuit of top starting pitchers, whether via free agency (lefty Max Fried and righty Corbin Burnes are front-of-the-rotation options) or trade (Garrett Crochet).
With the Sox’ second base situation unsettled, they could push for third baseman Alex Bregman, who has expressed a willingness to move to second base. Teoscar Hernández remains on the market as a righthanded outfield option. While none of those players can match Soto’s impact, the fact that the Sox were viewed as legitimate suitors for the top talent on the market gives credence to the sense that they are committed to ambitious upgrades.
