Yankees slugger Juan Soto is one of the top free agents on the market this offseason. The Red Sox, among other clubs, are reportedly planning to meet with him. Seth Wenig/Associated Press According to several reports this week, the Red Sox intend to be serious players in the Juan Soto Sweepstakes.
Both the New York Post and ESPN reported that the Red Sox have plans to meet with Soto and his representatives in southern California this week. Both outlets reported that the Sox are among seven or eight bidders for the outfielder, with the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays among others – including perhaps even the small-market Tampa Bay Rays – also in the running. For Red Sox fans who have witnessed the team scale back its spending since 2019 and largely sit out bidding for the game’s biggest stars, the team’s interest in Soto is the latest example of a renewed commitment to investing in the roster.
In the lead-up to this news, there were reports from the recent GM Meetings – from both agents and executives rival teams – that the Red Sox were taking a far more aggressive approach to the offseason than in recent years. The Red Sox are known to have engaged in trade talks with the Chicago White Sox for pitcher Garrett Crochet, while also getting in contact with representatives for elite free agents Max Fried, Blake Snell and others. The news of their interest in Soto, however, was somewhat shocking, for two reasons: First, Soto, at 2.