Former Red Sox All-Star Accidentally Recruited Juan Soto To Boston

Can you imagine turning down $700 million?

That happens to be the amount of money the Boston Red Sox offered Juan Soto this past offseason, only to be denied in their pursuit of the former New York Yankees slugger.

Well, that’s only because the New York Mets offered Soto $765 million over the same timeframe (15 years). Soto took the biggest bag of money on the table, as most of us would have in the same position.

Though the Soto sweepstakes seemingly came down to nothing more than a high-stakes bidding war (mostly between the Mets and Yankees), a new report from The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey released Tuesday indicated that Boston may have held a soft spot in Soto’s heart as a landing spot.

McCaffrey revealed that Soto considered the Red Sox at the top of his list due to their history, ballpark, and strong Dominican presence on the roster.

The 26-year-old also revealed to McCaffrey that he’s thought fondly of the Red Sox ever since his teammate on the San Diego Padres, ex-Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts, spoke highly about the experience of playing in Boston.

“Xander Bogaerts told me a lot about this organization and how much he liked it and enjoyed being a part of the Red Sox,” Soto said, per McCaffrey.

Bogaerts, a two-time World Series champ with the Red Sox, signed an 11-year, $280 million deal with the Padres in 2022.

What sounds like agenda-less information sharing from Bogaerts to Soto (concerning Boston) may have ended up becoming an advertisement of sorts within Soto’s brain as he contemplated his destination last December.

Soto was always going to end up a Met, but it’s interesting to hear the Red Sox being discussed as one of MLB’s best teams to play for among some of the game’s most talented players.