Inside The Mets

Insider reveals Red Sox exceeded Mets' Juan Soto offer

The Boston Red Sox reportedly outbid the New York Mets for Juan Soto this offseason.
Jul 22, 2019; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; A detail view of Boston Red Sox hat and glove laying in the dugout at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images
Jul 22, 2019; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; A detail view of Boston Red Sox hat and glove laying in the dugout at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images | Kim Klement-Imagn Images

When the sweepstakes to sign New York Mets slugger Juan Soto was coming down to the wire this past offseason, it was conveyed that five teams were considered "finalists" to sign him. These teams were the Mets, the New York Yankees, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Boston Red Sox.

The only final contract offers that were disclosed from these five teams were that of the Mets (15-year, $765 million, which Soto of course ultimately agreed to) and the Yankees (who offered 16 years and $760 million).

Since these two New York teams were considered the main contenders for Soto's free agency decision, there wasn't much discussion about what the other three finalists offered him. That is, until Soto made a recent appearance on the Abriendo Sports podcast and revealed that the Mets weren't the team that offered him the most lucrative deal.

Read more: Juan Soto reveals Mets didn't offer him biggest contract

"The Mets didn't offer the most money," Soto said (in translated Spanish per an X post from Mike Rodriguez. He then added, "Some teams offered more."

This has sparked a ton of speculation about which teams might have offered Soto more than the Mets.

And SNY insider Andy Martino seemingly revealed at least one of these teams with a March 7 X post that wrote, "Regarding this, per sources with direct knowledge, it was clear that multiple teams, including Boston, had a willingness to exceed high offer if they knew Soto would agree. Ultimately he chose Mets in part because of family-friendly vibe that Alex Cohen has established."

Martino's wording makes it unclear whether the Red Sox actually made Soto an offer of over $765 million or were simply willing to. But given what Soto said on the topic, it's probably safe to assume that an offer was on the table.

Although all that matters for Mets fans is that Soto chose their squad.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Mets and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.