Inside The Red Sox

Yankees' Juan Soto Non-Committal About Re-Signing; Would Red Sox Enter Sweepstakes?

Boston could use some added star power

Scott Neville

May 2, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Juan Soto (22) stands at bat
May 2, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Juan Soto (22) stands at bat / James A. Pittman-USA TODAY Sports
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The Boston Red Sox have been flirting with the idea of adding some serious star power over the last couple of offseasons but have yet to make anything significant happen.

Could the Red Sox remind the rest of Major League Baseball of their deep pockets by poaching the New York Yankees' best player this offseason?

Yankees superstar Juan Soto is playing under an expiring contract and has been reserved when speaking about playing in the Bronx long-term. When asked about if he'd like to remain in the Yankees organization, Soto didn't gush about his time in New York.

“I mean, right now I’m still learning the team," Soto told the New York Post's Jon Heyman. "You cannot tell from one month into the season. You’ve got to see how it’s going to be all the way until the season ends.” 

Soto appears to be having a blast in the Bronx. He's hitting .318 with 15 extra-base hits including eight home runs, 25 RBIs and a .986 OPS (181 OPS+) in 35 games. The young slugger leads the American League with a .425 on-base percentage and 26 walks.

Maybe most importantly, the Yankees are 22-13, just one game back in the American League East. Still, neither Soto nor agent Scott Boras plan to settle, which is why he'll almost certainly test free agency.

With that in mind, would the Red Sox consider adding the superstar slugger into the mix? Boston has been quite reserved in free agency but continues to promise that they will spend once the roster is close to contenting.

Between the breakout campaigns of players such as Kutter Crawford, Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello as well as sluggers Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu and Connor Wong -- the window for competition is ahead of schedule. The heavily anticipated prospect trio of Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel also appear to be in the mix for the 2025 season.

Red Sox outfielder Tyler O'Neill is slated to be a free agent at the end of the year and Rob Refsynder has an option that will determine his future. They could have room in the outfield to make a splash. With that said, the aforementioned duo are both right-handed so a shakeup would be needed to bring in the left-handed Soto alongside their in-house bevy of left-handed outfielders.

When it comes to acquiring 25-year-old superstars, something such as lineup balance becomes an afterthought. The Red Sox almost certainly will be involved in the Soto sweepstakes but the most likely scenario is that they are not quite as aggressive as the two New York teams and possibly other big-market suitors.

The one trend that favors a deal coming to fruition is that Boston's ownership group is much more prone to offering young free agents significant money, as displayed last offseason when Japanese sensation Yoshinobu Yamamoto was offered over $300 million.

It remains to be seen how much of a push the Red Sox will make but his services would certainly be welcomed in Boston.

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Scott Neville

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer.  His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu