DALLAS — Less than 24 hours later had news that top free agent Juan Soto had agreed to a record 15-year, $765 million deal with the Mets.the Red Sox were left disappointed but hopeful that what they’ve dubbed “Plan 1A” from their offseason will still lead to a much-improved clubhouse in 2025.
Speaking for the first time since the Soto deal, baseball chief Craig Breslow said a search that led Boston to offer Soto around $700 million (according to an industry source) represented a return to the high end of the Red Sox market should be involved
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“Without getting into too much detail, being involved and engaged with the top talent in the market is where we should be,” Breslow said. “Obviously a disappointing result. But we painted as clear a picture as possible of where we are and where we’re going. Ultimately, for those things to line up, it takes a lot of overlapping considerations. We didn’t get that here , but we have other plans and we still have many other opportunities to improve the team.”
Because the Red Sox have a strong core of position players (including left fielders) but are light on controllable pitching, few had a sincere pursuit of Soto as likely before the winter. But Breslow, sensing an opportunity to add one of the best talents in the game, decided to do a full-court press as winter set in. In explaining that effort Monday, he cited the importance of contingency plans.
“Conceptually, when you think about how we would improve the team, you realize that we have a very strong core of position players,” Breslow said. “If there are going to be improvements at the player position, it’s going to take a unique talent to do that because we have to make sure that what we’re bringing in is better than our internal options. In this case, it was relevant and it was . We’re talking about a generational talent. But we had to make sure our offseason didn’t depend on one decision. It didn’t work out.”
The Red Sox may yet have the offseason many hoped for them before Soto’s run grabbed headlines for weeks. Starting pitching remains the top need, Breslow said, and new additions to the bullpen are possible even after the signings of left-handers Aroldis Chapman and Justin Wilson. Boston still needs to balance out their lineup with some right-handed pop and improve against lefties, especially with Tyler O’Neill signing with Baltimore. The Sox also need a backup catcher and could look for ways to creatively improve the defense in the outfield.
with Top free agents Max Fried, Corbin Burnes, Alex Bregman, Jack Flaherty and Teoscar Hernandez plus trade candidates like Garrett Crochet and Nolan Arenado still on the board, the possibilities are practically endless. And even with Soto headed to Queens, the Red Sox are still talking about a big game on what to expect during the hot-stove season.
“We have Plan A, Plan A-1, A-2, A-3, A-4,” Cora said. “There’s a lot of ways to accomplish what we set out to do. We’ve been talking about winning the division and making the playoffs. There’s different avenues, different ways. They’re going to attack them and hopefully we can execute them.”
“I think the offseason has been exciting the whole time. We talked about it toward the end,” Cora added. “When we sat down after the season, it was going to be a big offseason for the Red Sox and an exciting one. So far, so good.”
Cora played an active role in recruiting Soto and along with Breslow, team president Tom Werner and team president Sam Kennedy, visited the gardener at Scott Boras’ Southern California offices for an initial meeting in mid-November. Even though the outcome wasn’t what Boston wanted, Cora still enjoyed the process.
“From my end, it was fun,” Cora said. “In a way, it was fun to meet people and players of this status. It’s incredible. The boy understands. He gets it. Let me put it this way. Obviously I always have fun with the group that represents him (Boras Corporation). You know how I feel about them, but it was a good experience and I learned a lot.
Cora was dining at a Dallas restaurant with Kennedy and assistant general manager Eddie Romero when word broke that Soto had gone to the Mets for $765 million.
“He came out, they’re looking at their phones, and all of a sudden Scottie (Boras) comes in with this army of staff. It was like Gladiator with him coming in.
“It’s good for baseball. That’s the way I see it. I think everybody was waiting for this to happen, and obviously it was interesting the way everybody reacted when we were in the restaurant.”