It's time for the Red Sox to get back into the business of bullying smaller-market teams for superstars, and I know just the place to start: Juan Soto.
The slugging outfielder has receded from the stage a bit since leading the Nationals to a World Series in 2019. Traded to the Padres in a 2022 blockbuster, he posted pedestrian numbers en route to the National League Championship Series before personally rebounding while this year's hyped Padres massively underachieved.
The result is an organization in flux that reportedly wants to cut more than $50 million in payroll this winter, thanks to massive contracts like the 11-year, $280 million outlay for former Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts that already feels … unwise.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Entering his final year of arbitration -- where he's projected to earn over $30 million -- Soto is the kind of expense the Padres might not be able to afford, either now or in the long-term, since he could command at least $400 million as a free agent. (The Nationals traded him after he turned down a $440 million extension offer).
Let's be clear: He's worth it. Soto is a top-10 offensive talent who'd immediately anchor the Red Sox lineup and take the heat off Rafael Devers, who struggled under the weight of his own $313 million extension. Soto was the best player on a World Series winner at age 20, and he doesn't even turn 25 until later this month (he shares a birthday with Pedro Martinez, in fact).
MORE RED SOX COVERAGE
He's the only teenager ever to record an on-base percentage of at least .400, and the only other player to hit that number for each of the first five years of his 20s is Hall of Famer Ted Williams. That's pretty good company, and it reflects Soto's standing as of the most gifted hitters in the game. As he continues maturing, there's no reason he couldn't annually hit 35-40 homers while walking upwards of 150 times.
But acquiring Soto would only partly be about his numbers. The Red Sox need to give fans a reason to re-engage after four years of shedding superstars and accumulating no-name depth pieces, and with all due respect to those who say it's simply about winning, that's not enough. The best Red Sox teams had personality, from David Ortiz to Pedro to Johnny Damon to Kevin Millar. And Soto does not lack flair.
His at-bats are already famous for the Soto Shuffle as he takes pitches with a routine that's halfway between Rickey Henderson's crouch and Deion Sanders's touchdown dance. Soto told ESPN at the All-Star Game that he developed the routine in the minor leagues while learning to love taking his walks. It makes him worth watching on every pitch, and needless to say, the Red Sox could use more of that.
He's also a young star who hasn't even hit his prime, and acquiring him now would be reminiscent of the Red Sox snagging Manny Ramirez in free agency at age 28 in 2000. Say what you want about Manny being Manny, but he won a World Series MVP Award in 2004 and was a force for the majority of his Red Sox career.
Soto is that kind of talent, with an inherent joy for the game that's infectious. When he's not shuffling in the box, he's smiling, and the Red Sox need to win us back by turning all of that future capital Chaim Bloom accumulated into someone who can impact the present.
Acquiring him won't be easy. The Padres surrendered an absolute haul to get him, and Washington's second-half resurgence was built around some of the talent that came back, including 47-steal shortstop C.J. Abrams, promising left-hander MacKenzie Gore, and hulking top-10 prospect James Wood, a five-tool center fielder.
The Red Sox should be prepared to part with either of their top two prospects, shortstop Marcelo Mayer and outfielder Roman Anthony, as the start of any package, and they might have include right-hander Brayan Bello, too.
They shouldn't let that stop them. Soto is one of the best hitters of this generation, he has already delivered on the biggest stage, and he'd turbocharge interest in a franchise that desperately needs a reset.
You want to make a splash? Let someone else spend big on Shohei Ohtani and his twice-repaired elbow. Juan Soto is the play. It's time to bring some superstars back to Boston.