Red Sox Aren’t Favorite, But Have Advantage In Juan Soto Sweepstakes

Juan Soto is currently living the dream.

It’s almost guaranteed that he’ll ink one of the biggest contracts in baseball history over the coming months, and in the meantime, he’ll be wined, dined and wooed by teams begging to write those hefty checks.

Why?

Soto is still just 26. He is one of the best hitters in all of baseball, and if he keeps his current pace, he will be a first-ballot inductee into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

The New York Yankees and New York Mets are the favorites to obtain his services, but ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that the Boston Red Sox are also in the mix. Soto is “at the top” of their want list and has scheduled a meeting with the club this week, as he also has with the Toronto Blue Jays, Mets and Yankees.

It’s starting to look like a very real possibility, folks.

Boston still has a ways to go if it wants Soto, with the primary question being whether it wants to dish out $700 million for one player. The Red Sox have an advantage over the likes of Toronto and the two New York teams, however.

Soto is a neighbor of Red Sox legend David Ortiz.

Is that a legitimate advantage? No, probably not, but you should take whatever you can get as a fan. Soto was also once seen dancing with Jason Varitek and Pedro Martinez, so you can start fitting him for the uniform now.

We’d like to say all of this is a joke, but personal relationships have long played a factor in decisions like these. Soto idolized Manny Ramirez growing up, so it’s tough to argue that bringing the former 12-time All-Star alongside Ortiz and Martinez to the meeting would hurt.

It’s at least worth a shot.