3 Reasons the Red Sox Are Better Off Not Signing Juan Soto

Juan Soto is a phenomenal baseball player who is still in his prime. Coming off a season where he hit 40 home runs and drove in 100-plus on a team that won the American League pennant, there’s a spot on every team’s roster for Soto.

Now that he has hit the open market as the marquee free agent this offseason, every team can get their chance to sign this generational talent. One of the clubs in the running is the Boston Red Sox, and while Soto would instantly be the face of the franchise for the next decade plus, there are a few reasons why the Sox may be better off not signing him.

1. Cost of the player

It has been well-documented that the Red Sox have been unwilling to spend big to improve their roster or to retain key players in recent years. Recently, the team’s most prominent acquisition via free agency was signing former Colorado Rockies All-Star shortstop Trevor Story to a six year, $140 million contract prior to the 2022 season.

While the Story signing, due to injuries and inconsistent play, has not panned out for the Red Sox as they would have hoped, Boston could use Soto’s bat in their lineup and are one of the final teams in the running for his services.

Soto will not be cheap to acquire and could command the largest contract in baseball history (which as of now is held by Shohei Ohtani’s ten-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers). This means that any team acquiring Soto will have less money to spend on other players.

While I do not foresee the Red Sox giving Soto potentially the largest contract in baseball history, the fact that they are reportedly one of the last teams with a real chance at acquiring him demonstrates that they are finally willing to spend significant money to bolster their roster. The question is whether Soto would be the best use of this cash.

2. Doesn’t address multiple needs

While the Red Sox spending potentially $700 million on Juan Soto would be a great addition to the lineup, it does not address the team’s more pressing needs, one of which is starting pitching.

Even though one of the best pitchers is off the market in two-time Cy Young award winner Blake Snell, who signed a five-year contract worth $182 million with the Los Angeles Dodgers this week, there are still multiple front-line starting pitchers available who would improve the Red Sox rotation.

The two best options available include Corbin Burnes and Max Fried, followed by other starting pitchers including Jack Flaherty and former Red Sox Nathan Eovaldi. Given that the team’s rotation is predominantly right-handed, signing a lefty in Max Fried would help bring new life atop the rotation, and leave the team with more money to address another need, a right-handed bat.

3. Lineup is predominantly left-handed

Soto is an amazing baseball player, but along with the steep price to acquire him, he is also a left-handed bat, something that the Red Sox have plenty of.

According to ESPN, based on WAR (Wins Above Replacement - takes into account a player’s hitting, fielding, and base running) three of the team’s top four position players are left-handed (the lone exception being Ceddanne Rafaela). Acquiring a right-handed bat such as Teoscar Hernandez, who plays the same position as Juan Soto, or Willy Adames would give manager Alex Cora some flexibility with his lineup.

After an 81-81 season last year, it’s clear that the Red Sox need to improve their roster to make it back to the playoffs. Whether it is Craig Breslow spending a lot of money on one player or dispersing the money on multiple players, the 2025 Red Sox have the resources to make the team much better this off season.

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