Well that’s interesting!
Are we reaching the endgame of the Juan Soto free agency saga? We are just days away from the winter meetings, and Soto’s people have apparently begun to eliminate teams from contention as the bidding reportedly reaches the $600 million level. One MLB insider is calling the Red Sox “a surprising force” in the race to sign the slugger. The Blue Jays and Dodgers are being considered long shots, leaving the Sox, Mets, and Yankees to duke it out. (Ken Rosenthal, Even Drellich, The Athletic)
What makes the Sox such a force to sign Soto? Perhaps its the fact that, according to one source with knowledge of the negotiations, the Red Sox have informed Soto that they also plan on signing two additional “big money” free agents, a pitcher and a hitter. (Randy Miller, NJ.com)
Let’s hope that Craig Breslow doesn’t consider Aroldis Chapman to be one of those two free agents, as the signing is only being graded as a B- by one analyst. (David Schoenfield, ESPN)
Alex Bregman would certainly count as a “big money free agent” (FanGraphs is projecting him to receive a 5-year, $140 million deal). And, for whatever it’s worth, he’s apparently a big Ted Williams fan. (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)
But while being a fan of Ted Williams is cool, being a modern-day Ted Williams is even cooler. Maybe that’s why so many recently retired Sox legends are getting in on the Juan Soto recruiting effort. (Hayden Bird, Boston.com)