Yankees rival calls on legend to make Juan Soto pitch — and he’s very confident

Juan Soto’s suitors are pulling out all the stops to seal the deal with the star free agent right fielder.
While shortstop Francisco Lindor reportedly puts on his recruiting hat for the New York Mets, the Boston Red Sox have gotten some help from Hall of Famer David Ortiz, who confidently envisions the left-handed slugger tormenting the New York Yankees for years to come.
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“I see him on the Red Sox, Ortiz said in a Spanish interview with EL VOCERO on Thursday that was translated to English, via NESN. ”I’m telling you the truth. I see him there unless something different happens because right now everyone wants him, but even I am doing my due diligence because I would like to have that horse on my team. Soto is a phenomenon that everyone wants because he is a full package, and whoever signs him for the next 12 years will be guaranteed a couple of championships.”
According to reports, Soto and agent Scott Boras have not reached the offer stages from any team, so any commentary — even one with such conviction as this — is purely conjecture. What is known is that the Red Sox contingent of Cora, president Sam Kennedy, chairman Tom Warner and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has met with Soto for three hours on Nov. 14, according to Mass Live.
And it seems to have been received well, not that any of Soto’s initial meetings have not gottn good reviews. Mass Live reported Nov. 15 that it was “productive” and that Soto was “impressed” by the presentation for how it highlighted Boston’s treatment of Dominican-born players. On Thursday, The Athletic’s Jim Bowden included the Red Sox in his power rankings of teams to land him (fifth), and said that Soto was “impressed” by the fact that the Red Sox have a lot of youth coming, which will help them augment the roster through promotions and trades.
“Soto is a unique guy, and a guy at a young age who is at another level, and the organization he goes to will have an immediate impact,” Ortiz said. “In Boston, he will have the best manager in the major leagues, which is Alex Cora, in my opinion. Cora is a guy who has unique chemistry with his players, which I would like to take back 15 years to play for Alex Cora. A player who cannot play for him will not be able to play for anyone because he is a brilliant guy, and anyone who does not learn with him has no common sense.”
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.
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.
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+.