MLB Insider Explains What Signing With Red Sox Would Mean For Juan Soto

Juan Soto will get paid handsomely this offseason, and it might come down to personal preference for the 2019 World Series champion.

The Boston Red Sox are among five teams in contention to sign Soto. Each club reportedly bid at least $600 million and had meetings to convince the 26-year-old to sign with them. Soto is expected to make his decision around the winter meetings this week or the start of next week.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Buster Olney previewed the winter meetings, and the latter explained what signing with the Red Sox would mean for Soto.

“Signing with the Red Sox would mean that he’d get to spend the rest of his career playing in a ballpark that augments greatness in left-handed hitters, from Ted Williams to Carl Yastrzemski to David Ortiz to Rafael Devers — although one evaluator notes that Soto could thrive in any ballpark,” Olney wrote Thursday.

That argument was similar to what Boston reportedly pitched to Soto in the first meeting between the sides. The Red Sox highlighted the club’s rich history with Dominican players, including Ortiz, Soto’s childhood hero.

Soto and his agent Scott Boras are taking their time before making a critical decision, and the Red Sox and other teams will hope they’ve done enough to convince the All-Star outfielder he should sign with them.