One Juan Soto meeting draws more positive reviews | Should Yankees, Mets be worried?

As Juan Soto seemingly wraps up the majority of his initial meetings with suitors, fans are clinging to any morsel of information that emerges, even as they all can be paraphrased with various forms of “cautious optimism.”
Still, it appears that one team that was not necessarily considered a favorite has made a strong first impression with the right fielder: the Boston Red Sox.
SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE YANKEES NEWSLETTER:
RESTORING THE GLORY
Seven days after the Red Sox’s meeting with Soto and agent Scott Boras, another promising bit of information has circulated regarding the details of their gathering.
From The Athletic’s Jim Bowden, a former general manager:
The Red Sox know they made a mistake when they decided not to go all-in to keep Mookie Betts, and they’ve learned from their missteps in recent years. They appear to be serious players for Soto. They have one of the best farm systems in the game and payroll flexibility going forward. Their meeting with Soto went well, as they sought to convince him that the special talent in their system will allow them to spend on free agents and trade acquisitions over the next several years. Soto was impressed with that aspect of their presentation, according to a league source briefed on the meeting.
Nobody should anoint the Red Sox as winners just yet; Bowden gives them the fifth-best chances to sign the star outfielder, who hasn’t yet been presented with formal offers. And it behooves the Red Sox and Soto (Boras) alike to spin all of the meetings positively for leverage. But the reporting is at least providing insight into what Soto is prioritizing on a team — outside of money, which is what many expect to be the determining factor.
Mass Live reported last Friday that the three-hour meeting was “productive” and that Soto was “impressed” by the presentation for how it highlighted Boston’s treatment of Dominican-born players. Red Sox president Sam Kennedy, chairman Tom Warner, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and manager Alex Cora were in attendance, Mass Live reported.
In the meantime, Soto has taken meetings with the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers, according to reports. The Philadelphia Phillies are also expected to sit down with Soto soon, per The New York Post’s Jon Heyman.
The Mets’ highly anticipated meeting was received well by Soto’s contingent, according to Heyman, who wrote that “the Mets’ presentation was a ‘big production’ and ‘very detailed.” NJ Advance Media’s Bob Klapisch reported Tuesday that the Yankees were “encouraged” by theirs, but owner Hal Steinbrenner told reporters Wednesday that he has “no idea” how confident he should feel about re-signing the four-time All-Star.
Soto hit a career-high 41 home runs last year with the Yankees, while posting a .288/.419/.569 slash line with 109 RBIs. He had a 178 OPS+.
For what it’s worth, 12 of 18 executives polled by ESPN in a story published Tuesday said that they’d expect Soto to return to the Yankees.
The expectation is that Soto will sign by the Dec. 9-12 Winter Meetings on a 13-15 year deal that will eclipse $600 million.
But until Soto signs and the baseball uniform hears from him, nobody will truly know what Soto considers in his future and how much money tips the scale.
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.