DALLAS – Imagine being told at the beginning of the offseason that the Boston Red Sox would pursue a legitimate pursuit of star free agent outfielder Juan Soto. Better yet, Soto would reunite with the Red Sox and the team would be considered a finalist for him. And get this: The Red Sox would eventually offer him a contract worth $700 million.
Oh, one more detail: that Offer of 700 million dollars over 15 years? It would not be enough to sign Soto.
It would be a lot to process on several fronts if he had been granted a glimpse into the future in early November. But now that this month-long saga has reached its epic conclusion (with Soto signing a 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets, the largest contract in the history of professional sports), we are left to contemplate the consequences for the teams that failed to seal the deal, especially Boston.
When Soto’s historic free agency began, the Red Sox did not seem relevant characters. A franchise mired in mediocrity in recent years had rarely acted like the big-market juggernaut it pretended to be, especially in the winters, as the team failed to extend and eventually trade local superstar Mookie Betts to the Dodgers in a fundamentally shameful way. This winter, it seemed highly unlikely that many (if any) clubs outside of New York would be willing to make competitive offers for a record-breaking free agent like Soto, much less a team like Boston that had been maddeningly frugal in the past few years. last years.
But it wasn’t just the Yankees and the Mets. The Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers also emerged as quasi-finalists in the Soto draft, although neither of them became a fixture in the daily discourse surrounding Soto’s future as Boston did over the past month. After its surprise pursuit of Shohei Ohtani last winter, Toronto, as a big-market club eager to reassert its relevance with a massive star, made sense as an aggressive entrant. And the ridiculously loaded Dodgers are always involved when elite talent becomes available via trade or free agency; that’s just what they do.
But the Dodgers and Blue Jays remained on the periphery of the conversation as East Coast elites prepared for the ultimate bidding war. It was the Red Sox who emerged as the most viable competition for the two New York clubs, fueled by a rejuvenated willingness to spend at the highest level and a rich history of Dominican stars like David Ortiz and Pedro Martínez publicly declaring their desire to see his compatriots choose their favorite team.
At first glance, it’s a consolation that Soto decided not to stay with Boston’s biggest rival for the next 15 years. This is not an insignificant result for Boston. With their exit from the American League East (and the American League in general), not only will the Red Sox have to worry a lot less about getting Juan Soto out on a regular basis, but the Yankees are a much worse team. without him. The gap between Boston and New York is undeniably smaller now, with Soto no longer alongside Aaron Judge forming baseball’s most overwhelming offensive duo atop the Yankees’ lineup.
But there is still a gap. The Red Sox won 81 games in 2024, while the Yankees won 94 and reached the World Series. And even if you subtract Soto from New York’s lineup, there’s still reason to feel good about the Yankees’ roster compared to Boston’s.
And this is where the fact that the Yankees also lose Soto could become bad news for Boston. While the Red Sox and their fans can point and laugh at the Yankees’ failure to retain a player of Soto’s caliber, their own team’s path to becoming a legitimate playoff contender again might have become more daunting.
Because now the Yankees must also turn around. And if both clubs were willing to spend that amount on a single player, would they be willing to spend a similar amount on a more diversified collection of free agents and trade acquisitions? Having not committed to Soto, the Yankees now have more funds to allocate to other players and are even more motivated to do so with such a crucial piece leaving their roster. According to recent reports, both clubs have interest in several of the same free agents, namely the two biggest frontline arms on the market, Corbin Burnes and Max Fried. Either starter will cost a lot of change regardless of the circumstances, but having a motivated team in the Yankees eager not to get overtaken again could complicate Boston’s goals.
And by the way: The Mets, who have no reason to stop spending now, also need pitchers. The San Francisco Giants, who also seem eager to get out of the messy middle and get back into contention, have already landed a big fish in shortstop Willy Adames. They are also interested in increasing their turnover. Starting pitching has proven to be expensive on the market so far this winter, and now the Red Sox must fend off several foes to address their most glaring weakness.
It’s not just about the pitching, either. Even with help along the way through an ultra-stacked farm system loaded with position player talent, Boston could use an instant impact on offense, especially with one of its biggest 2024 bats in Tyler O’ Neill, who signed with rival Baltimore in a triple. -One year offer. The Sox are reportedly linked to outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, a perfect fit whom they also pursued a year ago. But convincing him of a reunion with the Dodgers won’t be easy, and the Yankees could get involved now, with their outfield looking much more shallow post-Soto.
However, mound help should remain Boston’s goal. Aroldis Chapman was an intriguing, if volatile, move into the bullpen. If it’s not Fried or Burnes, there are other options for the rotation. But the market is moving quickly and this is not a team that can afford to wait for Plans C, D or E.
In the end, Soto opted to stay in New York and the Red Sox’s surprising chase fell short. But that’s not the end of the story. If anything, it has only increased attention on what Craig Breslow and the Boston front office will try to accomplish before Opening Day 2025. Their serious interest in Soto pushed the franchise back into the inner circle of clubs competing for the top talent in the game. game.
The Red Sox have started talking like a big market again. Now is the time to act like it.