The Red Sox met with free agent outfielder Juan Soto on Thursday.
How did it go? Boston clearly felt pretty good, with MassLive’s Sean McAdam reporting that it was a “productive” meeting while providing key details about the overall encounter.
Red Sox Chairman Sam Kennedy, Chairman Tom Werner, Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow and Manager Alex Cora represented the club, which did not discuss money with the 26-year-old but spent three hours to highlight potential projects and their history with the stars of the Dominican Republic, his native country. What do we think of all this? We have a few takeaways:
TURN ON THE JET
The Red Sox’s decision to highlight the successes of David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and Pedro Martinez (presumably, they may have also brought up Pablo Reyes and Izzy Alcántara) was a smart move. But why not bring them to the next meeting?
It didn’t work out when the Celtics tried to lure Kevin Durant, but it’s never a bad idea to have “Big Papi” in the room.
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SOTO WILL COST A LOT SILVER
The Red Sox haven’t made an offer yet, but when they do, it better be closer to $50 million per season. This is going to cost a lot of money, whether they like it or not.
Soto probably doesn’t mind that he hasn’t received an offer yet, because his meeting with New York Mets owner Steve Cohen is going to produce some truly silly numbers.
IS THE AGRICULTURAL SYSTEM HELPING OR HURT?
McAdam reported that a key part of the meeting was to highlight “the crop of top prospects that will soon be arriving” for Boston.
Does this help or hurt?
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Soto is coming off a loss in the World Series, so any team he joins will probably have to convince him that he’ll have a chance to go back and win one. Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Kyle Teel and Kristian Campbell could one day help win a ring, but will that time come soon? Would Soto prefer to see a few prospects flipped for players who can contribute immediately?
We don’t have information about his mind, but it’s certainly a question worth investigating.
BOSTON HAS A REAL CHANCE
Would be toi spend three hours in meetings with people you had no interest in working with?
Soto was reportedly “impressed” with the overall sales pitch, and that makes sense considering what it would have entailed. The Red Sox were able to flaunt their youth, a deep farm system, a big market, one of the best managers in baseball, and money. Who wouldn’t want all of that?
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It’s easy to say that Cohen won’t be subject to a bidding war, but while the richest contract in baseball history would be enticing, other aspects will factor into the decision. The Red Sox may not necessarily be the favorites, but they have one foot in the door.
