The full-court press to woo Juan Soto has begun.
While the Toronto Blue Jays were said to have scheduled the first meeting with the star outfielder and his agent Scott Boras for this week, the first details to emerge come from a Thursday night meeting with the Boston Red Sox and their top brass.
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According to Mass Live’s Sean McAdam, the three-hour gathering was “productive,” per a source with knowledge, and Soto came away with a positive view on the organization.
Soto was said to be impressed by the Red Sox’ presentation, which included a video taking note of the franchise’s history of star players from the Dominican Republic, Soto’s native country. The Red Sox laid out their plans for the future and highlighted the crop of soon-to-be-arriving top prospects while giving a detailed outline of ownership and Fenway Sports Group.
Red Sox president Sam Kennedy, chairman Tom Warner, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and manager Alex Cora were in attendance, McAdam reported. No word on whether they discussed eventually moving Soto out of the outfield and into a full-time designated hitter.
Soto is likely to command more than $40 million per season on a 13-15 year deal.
The Blue Jays are considered by “industry sources as a viable obstacle” to the New York Yankees’ and New York Mets’ pursuits, according to The New York Post, and clearly the Red Sox are serious, too. According to reports, the Mets and owner Steve Cohen — it’s unclear if anyone else is joining him — are talking with Soto this week, too. The Yankees will get their first offseason meeting with Soto done at some point this month. It will include manager Aaron Boone, owner Hal Steinbrenner and general manager Brian Cashman.
Soto hit a career-high 41 home runs last year, while posting a .288/.419/.569 slash line with 109 RBIs.
Many insiders expect Soto to sign by the Winter Meetings on Dec. 9-12 at the latest.
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