Sounds unreal? That’s because it almost was. Last off-season, Juan Soto was nearly shipped to the New York Yankees’ biggest rival.

Last December, he signed a 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets, the Yankees’ cross-town rivals. However, leading up to that was also a team that was ‘on top of his list,’ and he strongly considered signing with them. Guessed the team yet?

Yes, it’s the Boston Red Sox. You see, the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry runs the deepest, oldest, and most famous. Well, it’s also dubbed the “greatest rivalry in sports,” so it’s safe to call both teams sworn enemies.

It all mainly stems from when 1919’s Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold once-in-a-generational player Babe Ruth to the Yankees. That initiated the ‘curse of the Bambino.’ And this was followed by the Red Sox not winning a single World Series for a whole 86 years till 2004. But on the other hand, the Yankees were in a great place, amassing 27 championships in that era.

Recently, it came to light that the Red Sox pushed a bit too hard to get Soto in the lineup. The 26-year-old admitted that he was impressed with the team offering him $700 million for 15 years. And did you know that it’s double the value of the largest contract the Red Sox have ever given? So far, it’s Rafael Devers, holding the team’s largest deal of 10 years and $313 million since 2023.

It was always evident that the Mets and Yankees were the frontrunners to sign Soto. Little did we know that it was the Red Sox who were the serious contenders.

Soto admitted, “It was pretty fun; they showed a lot of love.” Apparently, he loved the way the Red Sox presented the contract to him and was appreciative of negotiations. “I think it was really impressive what they brought over. I definitely sat down and looked at it and looked at the offers and everything they had for me.” Turns out, the Red Sox wanted to go to all lengths to sign him.

Not just the Red Sox, Soto, too, loved the whole idea of playing for Boston. He said, “It’s a pretty good team and has a lot of Dominicans, and it was really impressive for me and really caught my eye… They were pushing really hard, but at the end of the day, I made decisions.” While Soto did not specify any reasons, fans think Boston could’ve never outbid the Yanks or Mets because, reportedly, from the very beginning, Scott Boras made sure of Juan Soto going with the highest bidder. And well, as per Reddit users, that was never Boston.

Well, fans can say things, but we are not sure of anything other than Soto facing Boston for the first time after being a Met. And going by what the slugger shared, it was a place he almost called home.

How would things look if Juan Soto had signed with the Red Sox?

The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry has been fierce and historical, to say the least. If, instead of Mets Colors, what if Soto wore the Red Sox uniform this season? Well, the truth is, he wouldn’t be the right fit for the Red Sox. You see, he’s a left-handed hitting outfielder and the Red Sox’ lineup is left-leaning.

They already have Ceddanne Rafaela, Jatren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, and Rob Refsnyder. These four outfielders already seem enough and crowded for the Red Sox. Not to forget, the team also has their top prospect outfielder, they hold pride in – Roman Anthony.

How would Soto fit in such crowded dynamics? Yes, no doubt that the Red Sox would make space for the generational phenom. Yet, there was no guarantee he’d manage to settle.

It’s Soto’s impressive numbers that made the Red Sox go this deep in attempting to sign him. He recorded a .283 batting average and .946 OPS with a legitimate 209 home runs throughout his 8-year career span. It does make sense why the Red Sox might’ve been desperate to get him in.

But eventually, we know how things unfolded. And as per Sean McAdam of MassLive, whatever happened, happened for the best. “It’s unclear how much of an early boost Soto would have provided the Red Sox this season. His signing might have led to the team dealing away Wilyer Abreu, who is a vastly superior defender in right field, and thus far at least, more productive at the plate, too.”

Plus, if the Red Sox really offered that $700 million, it definitely indicated “the beginning of a re-engagement on the part of club ownership,” pointed out McAdam. And later, that commitment helped them land Alex Bregman in a 3-year, $120 million deal. Sure, there was no direct relation between these two; it definitely showed Boston’s dedication to the roster shake-up.