Juan Soto eliminates teams, Boston Red Sox reportedly remain ‘serious contenders’

BOSTON — Even though Juan Soto’s decision isn’t imminent, baseball’s top free agent is getting closer and closer to selecting his next team. According to his agent Scott Boras, he is currently in the process of cutting clubs from the roster.

Boras didn’t name which teams are still in the running for Soto — or teams that are no longer being considered — but the Boston Red Sox remain in the “serious contenders” category for the four-time All-Star, according to various reports. The Red Sox are among the teams that have offered the future Hall of Famer a contract worth more than $600 million, which is the minimum value for Soto and Boras, according to Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athletic.

Juan Soto eliminates teams

Boras was in Los Angeles on Tuesday when one of his other big-name free agents, starting pitcher Blake Snell, was introduced by the Los Angeles Dodgers. At that point, Boras said Soto began removing teams from the race.

“When you go through these things, he just has a lot of information to process,” Boras said. “We had meetings with a number of franchises. He started eliminating teams and getting things done. Juan is a very methodical thinker, so we’ll see, but I don’t think anything is imminent in the near future.”

The Red Sox reportedly offered Soto a 13-year, $625 million contract. according to Hector Gomez of Z101 Digitalalthough they may have increased that offer due to other teams making their own offer.

In addition to Boston, the New York Yankees and New York Mets. The Toronto Blue Jays and Dodgers make up the list of “serious competitors” for Soto. The Mets are considered favorites as owner Steven Cohen has deep pockets to match any bid for the superstar slugger. The Yankees would like to bring Soto back after his lone season in the Bronx led to a trip to the World Series, but are reportedly very concerned about the rival Red Sox, according to NJ.com beat writer Randy Miller.

When might Juan Soto make his decision?

Baseball’s Winter Meetings begin Sunday in Dallas and Soto is expected to select a new team before the meetings end Dec. 12. Some insiders believe a decision could be made before the Winter Meetings begin.

It sounds like Boston fans – and fans of the other participating clubs – could remain on high alert for another week.

Who is Juan Soto?

The 26-year-old outfielder is one of the best hitters in baseball, with a career slash line of .285/.421/.532 and five Silver Slugger awards in his seven seasons. He won a World Series with the Washington Nationals in 2019 and is coming off a 41-homer season with the Yankees in which he helped New York advance to the Fall Classic.