Article: A Plea For The Red Sox To Sign Juan Soto

[notin]

11 hours ago, Duran Is The Man said:

what did you do with Yoshida? 

Returned him to Japan.  It turns out that Bloom kept the receipt…

[moonslav59]

6 hours ago, Hitch said:

The first one did break Jim Montgomery's sacking a day before everyone else, and he doesn't have any other wild predictions on his page that I can see, but yes, highly unlikely he has the information. 

 

That said, I have healed. I'm ready to be used and abused and have my heartbroken again. If sport isn't about blind hope and optimism, followed by crushing disappointment, then what's it for I ask you!

As much as I have tried to temper all hopes, I fell for this. I'm prepared to be flogged.

[Bellhorn04]

Well, there's plenty of buzz out there that the Sox are very serious here, and the "Dominican Connection" thing is real, so there's reason to get hopes up.

But nobody ever said beating the 2 NY teams in a financial cage match was going to be easy...

[mvp 78]

25 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Well, there's plenty of buzz out there that the Sox are very serious here, and the "Dominican Connection" thing is real, so there's reason to get hopes up.

But nobody ever said beating the 2 NY teams in a financial cage match was going to be easy...

Sox are "in" on Soto. They are clearly more "in" than they were on Yamamoto last year. I still don't believe they land him. They should, but they won't. 

[vjcsmoke]

I've heard two different offer rumors 13/625 and 12/600. Either way The Red Sox are giving the term and the money, I just have a feeling if it gets into a bidding war it might just take 14/700 to get it done.

Not sure if Red Sox will open the wallet all the way for that. This is all speculation of course. I have no idea what the other team offers are but I would imagine they are either in the ballpark of the Red Sox offer or will be upped in the upcoming days.

[moonslav59]

11 minutes ago, vjcsmoke said:

I've heard two different offer rumors 13/625 and 12/600. Either way The Red Sox are giving the term and the money, I just have a feeling if it gets into a bidding war it might just take 14/700 to get it done.

Not sure if Red Sox will open the wallet all the way for that. This is all speculation of course. I have no idea what the other team offers are but I would imagine they are either in the ballpark of the Red Sox offer or will be upped in the upcoming days.

If another team offers $650M/13, we should counter with $670M/14. If the league allows a 15 year offer, do it and bring down the AAV, as much as possible. That will matter, when JH goes through his next budget cutting period (or two and three over the next 15 seasons.)

[Bellhorn04]

If it just comes down to an EBay auction, I think the Sox drop out, and probably with good reason.  I think they're hoping the Dominican Connection and the other place of play factors give them an edge.

[Bellhorn04]

3 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

If another team offers $650M/13, we should counter with $670M/14.

Steve Cohen would have a good laugh at the idea that would be enough difference to knock him out of the bidding.

[mvp 78]

1B/20

Just keep trotting him out there like they did with Yaz. 

[Hitch]

52 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

If another team offers $650M/13, we should counter with $670M/14. If the league allows a 15 year offer, do it and bring down the AAV, as much as possible. That will matter, when JH goes through his next budget cutting period (or two and three over the next 15 seasons.)

If a New York team offers that, we need only match it or come in just under to be the better offer due to the different tax rates.

[Randy Red Sox]

1 hour ago, Bellhorn04 said:

If it just comes down to an EBay auction, I think the Sox drop out, and probably with good reason.  I think they're hoping the Dominican Connection and the other place of play factors give them an edge.

there are several reports on Twitter that Soto has agreed to terms with the Sox on a 12 year deal to be announced in a day or two

[mvp 78]

3 minutes ago, Randy Red Sox said:

there are several reports on Twitter that Soto has agreed to terms with the Sox on a 12 year deal to be announced in a day or two

Those reports are not to be trusted. It's from some schmoe who has never reported anything more than scores from the local peewee football game. Soto was offered it, there's not a chance in hell he accepted. 

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Steve Cohen would have a good laugh at the idea that would be enough difference to knock him out of the bidding.

Both Cohen and JH could pay him a $Billion, if they wanted to.

I'm sure they both have a high line they won't cross.

This signing may mean more to JH and his personna than it does to Cohen or Steinbrenner. Maybe that is the deciding factor.

All of these three owners might be content with just driving up the price and then swopping in on Burnes, Fried, Bregman or couple others.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

3 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

If it just comes down to an EBay auction, I think the Sox drop out, and probably with good reason.  I think they're hoping the Dominican Connection and the other place of play factors give them an edge.

If Soto really was on eBay, the Red Sox wouldn't be making bids hours before the auction ends. All that does is drive up the price... what they would actually do is watch the red clock on the Soto page, and post their best offer with less than 10 seconds left, so the other players have to scramble to try and beat it before time runs out.

In other words, be very suspicious that big Red Sox offers are somehow circulating (and leaking), when we have no idea what the Dodgers or even Blue Jays are thinking.

[moonslav59]

21 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

If Soto really was on eBay, the Red Sox wouldn't be making bids hours before the auction ends. All that does is drive up the price... what they would actually do is watch the red clock on the Soto page, and post their best offer with less than 10 seconds left, so the other players have to scramble to try and beat it before time runs out.

In other words, be very suspicious that big Red Sox offers are somehow circulating (and leaking), when we have no idea what the Dodgers or even Blue Jays are thinking.

Exactly. For all we know, one team might be waiting until the last minute to blast in with a top offer that is higher enough to end any counter offer ideas. That could be the Dodgers. I doubt TOR blows everyone else away.

I'm hoping the Dodgers will start thinking they've done enough for a while.

The Yanks have a lot to lose by missing out on Soto, since there is nobody out there to replace his loss to their team.

The Mets would love to steal some thunder from the Yanks. The NYC buzz would be enormous, but I'm not sure Cohen is still into wild spending, just for spending's sake. I think he has set a limit.

I hate to be thinking like this, because I am SOOOO sick of letdowns, but I'm liking the Sox chances, the more I think about it. Reports suggest we are $70M below line one and $90M below line two. I'm thinking JH may just spend between those two amounts in winter AAV added to the budget.

$70-90M add a huge chunk of talent to an already decent foundation.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

For me to hope Soto picks Boston, it takes a lot less to believe it's because of a legacy of Dominican greats -- Pedro, Papi, Manny, Raffy...

... than the Red Sox will top all bidders.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

19 hours ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

For me to hope Soto picks Boston, it takes a lot less to believe it's because of a legacy of Dominican greats -- Pedro, Papi, Manny, Raffy...

... than the Red Sox will top all bidders.

Soto's sister has scheduled apartment tours in Boston. She's older than Juan, so probably not a student -- maybe she's checking them out for family...

[Bellhorn04]

 

[Bellhorn04]

Gun to my head, I actually think I'd answer yes to whether Soto is coming to Boston or not.  I just have a feeling about it now, and the Dominican fraternity is part of that feeling.

But I'm absolutely prepared for it to go the other way too.

[moonslav59]

48 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Gun to my head, I actually think I'd answer yes to whether Soto is coming to Boston or not.  I just have a feeling about it now, and the Dominican fraternity is part of that feeling.

But I'm absolutely prepared for it to go the other way too.

I've told myself not to get my expectations up, after repeated disappointments, but I feel the same as you on this.

I'm also thinking, if we get Soto, we will also add another key player or two (like Fried, Scott and a catcher.)

[Randy Red Sox]

8 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I've told myself not to get my expectations up, after repeated disappointments, but I feel the same as you on this.

I'm also thinking, if we get Soto, we will also add another key player or two (like Fried, Scott and a catcher.)

although I still don't think signing Soto would be a good long term move I do think if we added him and a top SP and a solid reliever capable of closing that the Sox could be true contenders in 2025.  First time I have felt that in a long time.

[moonslav59]

21 minutes ago, Randy Red Sox said:

although I still don't think signing Soto would be a good long term move I do think if we added him and a top SP and a solid reliever capable of closing that the Sox could be true contenders in 2025.  First time I have felt that in a long time.

Agreed. Soto, Fried, Scott and a defensive catcher, and we should be a top 4-6 contender.

We could also make a trade for another pitcher, and be a top 3-4 contender.

[Hitch]

The Yanks, therefore, appear to be losing ground in the battle for Soto. Danny Abriano of SNY wrote this on Saturday, quoting Yankees reporter Randy Miller:

 

“Randy Miller of NJ dot com was on WFAN about an hour ago to discuss the Juan Soto sweepstakes. Believes it will come down to Red Sox and Mets. Said he would be surprised if Soto took any type of discount to return to the Yankees.”

 

Miller explained that he believes the Yankees will finish fourth in the Soto sweepstakes and that they will top out at $550 million. If that’s the case, they have virtually no chance of retaining the superstar talent.

[vjcsmoke]

If this tweet is correct the Yankees offer isn't even close at 550m.

Clearly you have to be north of 600 to even be taken seriously by the Soto camp.

If I were Boston I'd tell Soto's agent to keep us updated on any new offers so we can match or go higher.

It might take 650m to land Soto but it will be worth it.

[Hitch]

If we're against the Mets we don't even have to match it to come out on top financially because of the tax implications. 

[moonslav59]

Go 15 years and keep the AAV as low as possible.

I know the league has issues with teams going too long to lower the AAV, but 15 years would go to age 41.

We could also pull a Dodger and defer some money to bring the AAV down.

[vjcsmoke]

Mets offer is rumored to be 611m/13 years. Mets' Projected to Win Juan Soto Sweepstakes on This Massive Deal | Yardbarker

This means the Red Sox offer, if it really is 625/13 is still better.

This will end up being a where does he want to be more issue.

Maybe the bonus check or the structuring is different? Hard to tell what will be the deciding factor.

Hopefully the sister's house shopping is a clue he is serious about picking Boston.

[moonslav59]

40 minutes ago, vjcsmoke said:

Mets offer is rumored to be 611m/13 years. Mets' Projected to Win Juan Soto Sweepstakes on This Massive Deal | Yardbarker

This means the Red Sox offer, if it really is 625/13 is still better.

This will end up being a where does he want to be more issue.

Maybe the bonus check or the structuring is different? Hard to tell what will be the deciding factor.

Hopefully the sister's house shopping is a clue he is serious about picking Boston.

My guess is the Mets will or already have countered with something higher than $625/13. With taxes and personal preferences on where to play, maybe a slightly higher offer will not be enough for the Mets to get the prize.

I have to think the Sox can and should add a year and another $20-25M. It would bring down the AAV, which might help us stay under the tax line for a year or two, along the way. (Of course the Mets could add a year or two, as well.)

I have no evidence to prove this, but I'm thinking Soto might prefer BOS and lower taxes. The Dominican connection may be overblown, but I'm sure when Soto was growing up, watching Manny, Pedro and Papi on the Sox must have made an impression. Being teammates with Devers might tip the choice to Boston.

Maybe, I'm being a homer, here, but it's the time of year where hopes and dreams take over.

[Hugh2]

I’m starting to not only thing it happens but that it’s going to break sooner rather than later

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Hugh2 said:

I’m starting to not only thing it happens but that it’s going to break sooner rather than later

The timing depends on other team's asking Soto's agent to "check back" before agreeing with another team.

It sounds like the Yankees have moved on from that point. Maybe the Mets are still in that mode. Maybe the Dodgers have asked they be consulted, at the last minute, if such asks are for real.

I keep pinching myself to see, if this is all for real.