Red Sox a sneaky contender to land Soto

This story was excerpted from Ian Browne's Red Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

BOSTON -- For the past several weeks, the scuttlebutt surrounding Juan Soto is that the massive free-agent deal he will land this offseason will be with one of the New York teams.

But there’s another team lurking and ready to reassert its status as a big-market team, one that can flex its muscles in sweepstakes for franchise players like Soto.

• Making the case for each of Juan Soto's suitors

That team is the Boston Red Sox, who offer some selling points -- beyond the massive outlay of money -- that could entice Soto.

Here are a few topics that likely came up when Red Sox president/CEO Sam Kennedy, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and manager Alex Cora met with Soto and agent Scott Boras in Los Angeles late last week:

Face of the franchise
Should Soto come to Boston, he would become the undisputed face of the franchise. The man the Red Sox would build their brand around.

What about Rafael Devers, you say? Devers has made it clear many times that he loathes being looked at as “the face of the franchise.” Sure, Devers is still plenty driven to provide his expected level of production each season. But he has been honest about the fact he doesn’t like all the bells and whistles that come with being the highest-paid player on a team -- a status he will no longer hold if Soto comes to Boston.

For Soto, being the player a franchise is identified with isn’t something he could fully appreciate when he was in his early 20s with the Nationals. The left-handed-hitting machine was only 23 when he was traded to San Diego. Now 26, Soto would relish having center stage.

Soto wouldn’t get marquee billing if he returns to the Yankees. Not as long as Aaron Judge is around. With the Mets, he would, at best, share the headliner role with current team leader Francisco Lindor.

The Red Sox need someone like Soto who can perform at a transcendent level on the field while enthusiastically representing the team’s brand off the field.

A Fenway fit
A common misconception is that Fenway Park is built for right-handed hitters due to the inviting presence of the Green Monster. The truth is that many of the team’s most impactful hitters through the years were left-handed, starting with Ted Williams and continuing with Carl Yastrzemski, Wade Boggs, Mo Vaughn, David Ortiz and Devers.

For a hitter like Soto, who is adept at hitting the ball to all fields, Fenway would be rewarding. Many fly balls to left field that would be considered mishits for Soto in other ballparks would go off or over the wall at Fenway. Soto could easily be rewarded by going foul line to foul line at Fenway.

While Soto played right field for the Yankees last season due to the ballpark’s dimensions, left field would be the likely fit for him in Boston. You don’t need exceptional range to handle left field in Boston, and his arm would play with the short dimensions.

Following in Big Papi’s footsteps
There aren’t many players who could match or top Ortiz’s legacy in Boston. Soto has the talent to give Papi a run for his money. Not only that, but Soto grew up a huge fan of not only Ortiz, but also Pedro Martinez and Manny Ramirez during his youth in the Dominican Republic.

Ortiz and Martinez still work for the club and surely are doing their part to try to convince Soto that Boston would be a great landing spot.

In a recent interview, Ortiz beamed about the possibility of Soto joining the team that he guided to three World Series titles.

“If there was one player in baseball who could be the next David Ortiz in Boston, it is Juan Soto. He’s that good. He’s got great makeup,” Ortiz told WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford.

While Ortiz had Ramirez as his fellow tormenter of opposing pitchers, Soto would have Devers.

“I’m telling you,” Ortiz said to Bradford. “We would have Manny and Papi for the left side.”

Winning
Fortunate enough to win a World Series title in 2019, just after his 21st birthday, Soto isn’t going to go to a team that doesn’t have a good chance to win.

While it is true the Red Sox missed the postseason the past three seasons, and five of the past six, they seem positioned to get back to their winning ways. Boston has a talented young core at the Major League level and four premium prospects. This also gives the Sox the depth to trade from their desirable resources and surround Soto with more proven talent.