Don’t Be Dumb: Juan Soto Absolutely Should Be Red Sox’s Top Target

There is no world in which the Red Sox signing or attempting to sign Juan Soto, one of the three baseball players on the planet, should be considered a bad thing.

Sox fans have become increasingly hopeful that Boston could reel in the free-agent fish, and we’re still at the point where whale might be a better way of putting it.

That optimism stems from reports this week that the Red Sox have earned a seat at the negotiating table with Soto and his representation. Boston will meet with the superstar outfield as part of a reported group of suitors, including the Blue Jays, Mets and Yankees.

The impact of signing Soto for the Red Sox would be at least twofold. First, it would signify to the rest of the league that Boston can still throw around its financial weight. Signing Soto is likely to require a commitment of $600 million to get into the conversation. More importantly, though, the team that signs Soto will arguably get the best player in the league not named Shohei Ohtani … at just 26 years old.

Soto is entering his prime. He just had the best season of his career, hitting 41 home runs and driving in 109 runs with the Yankees in 2024. His 8.1 wins above replacement (FanGraphs) was the best of his career and was bested only by Aaron Judge, Bobby Witt Jr. and Ohtani in 2024.

Since Soto made his big debut in 2018 — at the age of 19 — only Judge, Mookie Betts, Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez have been more valuable. Judge just had the best season of his career by that metric at age 32; Soto turns 32 in October of 2030.

Yet, not everyone is sold on the idea of Soto patrolling the Fenway Park outfield for the next decade and a half.

” … in the real world,” 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Tony Massarotti wrote this week, signing Soto would be stupid.”

Stupid!

Mazz continued: “Wait … what? Yes, it would be stupid. And you know why? Because if we’re going to operate in reality — I know, buzzkill — the Red Sox currently have more young, left-handed hitting than anyone else,” he argued.

” … Pursuing Soto would be the equivalent of fattening up on bonbons while having a freezer free of protein. It just doesn’t make sense.”

Who had Mazz as the RFK Jr. of sensible baseball spending and roster construction on their hot stove bingo card?

He’s not wrong, per se, to argue signing Soto would only add to Boston’s offensive logjam from the left side. But with all due respect to anyone currently employed to play baseball at any level of the Red Sox organization … it’s Juan freaking Soto. You don’t stop yourself from adding that kind of player simply because you might have too many good offensive players — now or in the future. If he wants to be there, and you’re willing to spend that sort of money, you figure everything else after the fact.

It would also just be cool as hell.

While Soto doesn’t satisfy Boston’s biggest need, which is pitching, the fallout from that sort of deal could certainly open the door to acquiring arms. Again, it’s something you figure out while basking in the glory of signing the Dominican Mickey Mantle.

It’s probably still a pipe dream. BetMGM is offering odds in select markets on who will sign Soto. The Yankees are prohibitive favorites (prying him out of the Bronx is another would-be positive for Boston) at -120. They’re followed by the Mets (+150), Dodgers (+850) and even the Blue Jays at 12-1 have shorter odds than the 14-1 Red Sox.

So this is still unlikely, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea — and certainly not “stupid.”