David Ortiz couldn’t make it for the Red Sox’ meeting with Juan Soto in California Thursday. But that didn’t mean he hasn’t been in the middle of Soto’s world, of late.
“We live in the same building,” Ortiz told WEEI.com. “I was with his mom and his brother last night. We were laughing because somebody sent a fake video saying the Red Sox paid $780 million to him. I saw that when I was sitting with them and we were laughing like crazy.”
In a few weeks, however, the fake news may very well become a reality.
In the meantime, we are left waiting for interested teams to put their best foot forward when it comes to signing this offseason’s most prized free agent. According to MassLive.com, the Sox’ pitch – which included the presence of manager Alex Cora and lasted about three hours – has been made, with the Mets and Yankees still to come. (No financial offer has yet to be extended.)
And while sources suggest the Red Sox are showing the kind of intent in the pursuit of Soto not seen from the organization in some time, there continues to be a great unknown when it comes to Soto’s intention.
Sure, the 26-year-old grew up a longtime Red Sox fan, a notion the Sox were fully aware of when presenting a video presentation documenting their history with players from the country. But even a centerpiece of that montage, Ortiz, knows reeling in Soto is going to be no easy task.
What the Hall of Famer does realize, is how important this player can be for this franchise.
“I’m telling you. We would have Manny and Papi for the left side,” Ortiz said of the idea of Soto and current Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers.
“If there was one player in baseball who could be the next David Ortiz in Boston, it is Juan Soto. He’s that good. He’s got great makeup.”
It is believed that one message the Red Sox wanted to relay to Soto was how perfectly he would fit as the face of the franchise for years to come, a role Ortiz firmly believes the four-time All-Star is made for.
“If there is a guy I would like to build a team around it would have to be Juan Soto,” Ortiz noted. “Juan Soto speaks Spanish and he speaks English so he can communicate with both American and Latin players. He has that good vibe. I tell you what, the Yankees went that far this year because of him. He changed everything for them there. When you have a top player doing the things that he does, everybody follows up. That’s what they did over there. At the end of the day, he has incredible makeup.”
And then there is what Soto could do on the field.
Ortiz’s suggestion that Soto and Devers could resemble what the Red Sox had in Manny and Papi through the Sox’ World Series-winning seasons in 2004 and 2007 is intriguing. Over the past four seasons, the current free agent and the Sox’ third baseman have combined for 262 home runs, a power dynamic the Yankees basked in during their World Series run in 2024 with Soto and (Aaron) Judge.
This past season, Soto played in 157 regular season games one year after appearing in all 162. He led the American League in runs, while totaling the third-best OPS (.989) in baseball, only behind Judge and Shohei Ohtani. In his seven big league seasons, Soto has had an OPS lower than .923 just once.
In short, it isn’t difficult to decipher while Ortiz and the Red Sox believe Soto is worth a potentially historic investment.
“He’s fun to watch,” Ortiz said of Soto. “And he’s so professional. He will make Devers a better player. He’s the man.”
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