The Boston Red Sox have been toying with the idea of adding some genuine star power in recent offseasons, but have yet to make any significant moves.
Could the Red Sox show the rest of Major League Baseball that they have great pockets by acquiring the New York Yankees’ best player this offseason?
Juan Soto, the Yankees’ superstar, is on an expiring deal and has been guarded about his future plans in the Bronx. When asked if he wanted to stay in the Yankees organization, Soto did not wax poetic about his time in New York.
“I mean, right now I’m still learning about the team,” Soto told the New York Post’s Jon Heyman. “You can’t tell after one month into the season. You’ve got to see how things play out till the end of the season.”
Soto seemed to be having fun in the Bronx. In 35 games, he is hitting.318 with 15 extra-base hits, eight home runs, 25 RBIs, and a.986 OPS (181 OPS+). The youthful slugger leads the American League in on-base percentage (.425) and walks (26).
Perhaps most crucially, the Yankees are 22-13, one game back in the American League East. Nonetheless, neither Soto nor agent Scott Boras intend to settle, so he will almost probably test free agency.
With that in mind, would the Red Sox consider adding the renowned slugger to the roster? Boston has been relatively conservative in free agency, but they have promised to splurge once the roster is close to being complete.
With guys like Kutter Crawford, Tanner Houck, and Brayan Bello having breakout seasons, as well as sluggers Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, and Connor Wong, the window for competition is opening up ahead of schedule. The highly awaited prospect trio of Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, and Kyle Teel figure to be in the mix for the 2025 season.
Red Sox outfielder Tyler O’Neill is set to become a free agency at the end of the season, and Rob Refsynder has an option that will determine his future. They may have enough room in the outfield to make a splash. Having said that, the aforementioned two are both right-handed, thus a shakeup would be required to bring in the left-handed Soto among their existing roster of left-handed outfielders.
When it comes to obtaining 25-year-old superstars, lineup balance is an afterthought. The Red Sox will almost surely be part in the Soto sweepstakes, but they will likely be less aggressive than the two New York teams and other big-market bidders.
The one trend that favours a deal coming to fruition is that Boston’s ownership group is considerably more likely to pay young free agents large money, as evidenced last offseason when Japanese phenom Yoshinobu Yamamoto was offered over $300 million.
It remains to be known how much of a push the Red Sox will make, but his skills would be greatly appreciated in Boston.
Leave a Reply