The Red Sox aren’t talking about money yet.
In a three-hour meeting Thursday with slugger Juan Soto in California, the Boston contingent of chairman Sam Kennedy, chairman Tom Werner, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and manager Alex Cora focused on learning of the coveted free agent outfielder, according to MassLive.
The BoSox instead presented their storied franchise and ballpark to the 26-year-old, who is seeking what is expected to be a historic long-term deal worth more than $600 million this winter.
The Red Sox field focused on its prospect crop and plan for the future, with Soto questioning their commitment to winning and methods of evaluating players.
Soto was reportedly “impressed” with the “productive” meeting, although it is still early in the process, with the Mets, Yankees and Blue Jays expected to be in pursuit.
In his first season in the Bronx, Soto hit a career-high 41 home runs and added 109 RBIs with a .288 average, helping the team advance to the World Series.
The rival Red Sox took a close look at the Dominican star and used his countrymen’s history as a selling point.
One of them, David Ortiz, was not at the California meeting but made it clear he would love to see Soto in Beantown.
“If there was one baseball player who could be the next David Ortiz in Boston, it’s Juan Soto,” the retired slugger told WEEI on Friday. “He’s so good. He is beautifully made up.
What Soto brings to the table is well documented at this point.
He is a four-time All-Star, five-time Silver Slugger winner and World Series champion with a career slash line of .285/.421/.532 and 201 home runs over seven seasons in MLB.
Wherever he ends up, he will be the centerpiece of a franchise.
“If there’s one guy I’d like to build a team around, it would be Juan Soto,” Ortiz said. “Juan Soto speaks Spanish and English to be able to communicate with American and Latin players. It has this good vibe. I tell you what, the Yankees got this far this year because of him. There, he changed everything for them. When a top player does what he does, everyone follows. That’s what they did there. As it turns out, he has amazing makeup.
