Yankees make urgent move amid Red Sox chase

The New York Yankees are not going down without a fight, as can be seen by teams like the Boston Red Sox winning the Juan Soto Offseason Sweepstakes.

According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, New York has improved its contract offer in hopes of better capitalizing on the franchise’s opportunities before Soto makes a final decision. The Yankees are themselves the reigning American League pennant winners, secured AL MVP Aaron Judge to a nine-year contract two years ago and are one of the biggest markets in baseball, but they are not the only ones.

The Red Sox met in California for a three-hour meeting with Soto, who was rumored to be “impressed” by the 26-year-old, who had a rich history of Dominican-born stars making Fenway Park their home. David Oritz, a three-time World Series champion and Boston icon, advocated for Soto to go to the Red Sox during the offseason.

Yes, Boston finished 81-81 and missed the playoffs for the third straight year, but it’s encouraging to have six of baseball’s top 100 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline, including young players like Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, Marcelo Mayer and Kyle Teel himself. The Red Sox have made the most of their misfortune, parlaying their postseason failures into major investments in the farm system that could now pay dividends.

Boston is also digging deep into the market with ties to free-agent pitchers Corbin Burnes, Max Fried and Roki Sasaki from Japan. There were also rumors that Blake Snell was of interest to the Red Sox before the left-hander signed a five-year, $182 million contract with the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Therefore, it is easy to see that Boston is making efforts to create an environment conducive to attracting free agents, particularly those of Soto’s caliber.

Soto’s agent Scott Boras had previously suggested that the Red Sox are expected to be among the teams making big changes this offseason. Keeping Soto out of the Bronx wouldn’t just be a start, it would arguably be the biggest move of the winter.