Inside The Mets

Juan Soto admits how close he was to signing with Red Sox over Mets

New York Mets slugger Juan Soto nearly inked a deal with the Boston Red Sox instead.

Grant Young

May 5, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto reacts in the fourth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
May 5, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto reacts in the fourth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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The New York Mets are looking to salvage a win from their three-game series against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on May 21, after only having scored one run in their first two games of the series.

While many members of the Mets are to blame for this offensive shortage, it's no surprise that Juan Soto has been at the center of criticism, given he's still yet to find his groove at the plate after signing the biggest contract in sports history this past offseason.

The biggest story in sports over the past weekend was arguably Soto's return to the New York Yankees' stadium, given that he spent the 2024 season with the Yankees before signing with the Mets in free agency.

All indications were that Soto's ultimate signing decision was between the Mets and Yankees. However, when speaking with The Athletic's Jen McCaffery for a May 20 article, Soto conveyed that the Red Sox were also one of the finalists to secure his services.

Read more: Yankees legend gets honest about Juan Soto's struggles with Mets

In the article, Soto conveys that he was very impressed with what the Red Sox brought to the table during free agency negotiations. He also seems to suggest that the Red Sox were third in the race to sign him, coming up short only to the two New York teams.

In an X post, McCaffery included a quote from her interview with Soto, where he said of Boston, "They really were right there, they were at the top of the list. They were pushing really hard but at the end of the day I made decisions."

While Yankees fans hate the fact that Soto ended up with their cross-town rival, their vitriol likely would have been worse if he'd signed with the Red Sox.

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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.

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