The Red Sox met with free agent outfielder Juan Soto on Thursday.
How did it go? Boston clearly came away feeling pretty good, with Sean McAdam of MassLive reporting that it was a “productive” meeting while providing key details of the overall encounter.
Red Sox president Sam Kennedy, chairman Tom Werner, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and manager Alex Cora represented the club, who did not discuss money with the 26-year-old but did spend three hours highlighting potential plans and their history with stars from the Dominican Republic, his native country. What does one make of all that? We have a few takeaways:
FIRE UP THE JET
The Red Sox’s decision to highlight successes with the likes of David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and Pedro Martinez (presumably, maybe they also touched on Pablo Reyes and Izzy Alcántara) was a smart one. Why not bring them to the next meeting, though?
It didn’t work when the Celtics did it trying to lure Kevin Durant, but it’s never a bad idea to get “Big Papi” in the room.
SOTO IS GOING TO COST A LOT OF MONEY
The Red Sox didn’t make an offer yet, but when they do it better be close to $50 million per season. It’s just going to cost that much, whether they like it or not.
Soto likely doesn’t mind that he didn’t get an offer yet, because his meeting with New York Mets owner Steve Cohen is going to produce some truly silly numbers.
DOES THE FARM SYSTEM HELP OR HURT?
McAdam reported that a key part of the meeting was highlighting “the crop of soon-to-be-arriving top prospects” for Boston.
Does that help or hurt?
Soto just lost in the World Series, so any team he joins likely will have to convince him he’ll have a chance to go back and win one. Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Kyle Teel and Kristian Campbell could one day contribute to winning a ring, but will that time come soon? Would Soto prefer if a couple of prospects were instead flipped for players who can contribute right away?
We don’t have insight into his mind, but it definitely is a question worth considering.
BOSTON HAS A REAL CHANCE
Would you spend three hours in a meeting with people you didn’t have some level of interest in working with?
Soto was said to be “impressed” by the overall sales pitch, and it makes sense considering what it reportedly entailed. The Red Sox were able to flaunt youth, a deep farm system, a big market, one of the best managers in baseball and money. Who wouldn’t want all of that?
It’s easy to say Cohen won’t be outbid, but while the richest contract in baseball history would be enticing, other aspects will go into the decision. The Red Sox might not necessarily be the favorites, but they have a foot in the door.
