Juan Soto: Red Sox were ‘at the top of the list’ before signing with Mets
"They were pushing really hard, but at the end of the day, I made decisions."
Juan Soto put pen to paper on the largest deal in professional sports history in December — signing a 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets.
But before the 26-year-old slugger made the move from the Bronx to Queens last offseason, Soto acknowledged in an interview with The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey that he strongly considered signing with the Red Sox during the winter.
“It was pretty fun, they showed a lot of love,” Soto said of the Red Sox. “I really appreciated what they did and what they brought to the table. I think it was really impressive, what they bring over. I definitely sat down and looked at it and looked at the offers and everything they had for me. At the end of the day, we went in another direction.”
While both the Mets and Soto’s former team in the Yankees were considered the two frontrunners for Soto’s services during his free-agency sweepstakes, the Red Sox made a legitimate push to try and sign the All-Star outfielder.
According to MassLive’s Sean McAdam, the Red Sox’ final offer to Soto and his agent, Scott Boras, was “around $700 million for 15 years.” That proposed contract offer would have dwarfed the previous largest deal handed out by Boston — Rafael Devers’ 11-year, $331 million extension that he inked in January 2023.
Speaking to McCaffrey, Soto confirmed that he heavily considered the Red Sox — especially given their hefty contract offer.
“Yes, they really were right there, they were at the top of the list,” Soto said. “They were pushing really hard, but at the end of the day, I made decisions.
“I think, the history, what they have and how they go about it all,” Soto added of the appeal of Boston. “The history of the ballpark, the city, the team. It’s a pretty good team and has a lot of Dominicans, and it was really impressive for me and really caught my eye.”
While Boston’s most pressing needs last season revolved around starting pitching and right-handed sluggers, the opportunity to add a superstar at the start of his prime years in Soto stood as a tantalizing scenario for a Red Sox team that was looking to make a splash last offseason.
While Red Sox currently sit at 25-25 in the standings following Tuesday’s win over the Mets, Boston’s top offseason additions like Garrett Crochet (4-3, 2.00 ERA) and Alex Bregman (.304 batting average, 11 home runs, 35 RBI) have impressed for Boston.
Soto is batting .247 through 48 games with the Mets so far this season, recording eight home runs, 20 RBI and working 38 walks in 174 at-bats.
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