Red Sox Reportedly 'Obvious' Candidate To Poach Yankees Superstar In Blockbuster Signing
The Red Sox have been much more conservative with their offseason spending in recent years after decades of top of the league payrolls.
Could Boston come out of the shadows by making one of the biggest splashes in Major League Baseball history while stealing a superstar from the rival New York Yankees? The national media seems to think so.
"Though there’s sure to be outside interest in 25-year-old superstar Juan Soto -- the (New York) Mets, (Los Angeles) Dodgers, (Philadelphia) Phillies and Red Sox are obvious potential outside suitors -- some rival GMs are starting to wonder if there’s a real chance he’d leave the Yankees," the New Post's Jon Heyman wrote Thursday.
Soto becomes a free agent at the end of the season and is putting together quite a strong case to be among the highest paid players in MLB history. He's hitting .304 with 33 extra-base hits including 18 home runs, 56 RBIs and a .995 OPS (179 OPS+) in 75 games.
The story that continues to be fed by Red Sox ownership and the front office is that they are waiting for a core to develop before backing the roster with over-the-top spending.
While Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow appeared to have tabbed the prospect trio of shortstop Marcelo Mayer, outfielder Roman Anthony and catcher Kyle Teel as the next wave -- a plethora of big league breakout campaigns could speed up the timeline.
Right-hander Tanner Houck appears to be a legitimate Cy Young candidate and Kutter Crawford a frontline starter. Outfielders Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela are exceeding expectations as well as catcher Connor Wong. Boston could be ready for a splash sooner rather than later.
Will the Red Sox actually compete with the largest markets in the league in what will be a bidding war of historic proportions? Probability would say no but they reportedly did make a $300 million effort for Japanese sensation Yoshinobu Yamamoto last winter and could be more inclined to take the safer pick in Soto -- a position player who has plenty of experience dominating the big leagues.
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