Jones & Keefe: The Red Sox have made their bid to Juan Soto

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00:00Let's get into the Red Sox, though.

00:01Some interesting news in the last 24 hours.

00:03Billy told me there's an update even in the last 15 minutes.

00:06Let me set the table and then we'll get you the update here.

00:10John Morose on Twitter said last night that Juan Soto has offers from five teams.

00:18That is a report from Randy Miller, I think of nj.com, if I'm not mistaken.

00:22All right, Randy.

00:23Red Sox, Dodgers, Mets, Yankees, Blue Jays.

00:26Okay.

00:26All right.

00:27Randy Miller, in that same report,

00:31says that Juan Soto is believed to be asking for a 15-year deal worth $700 million.

00:40The Ilya Kovalchuk deal.

00:41Shohei Otani's contract was 10 years, 680, and a bunch of it deferred.

00:46Is there not a cap on years in baseball?

00:48I feel like I should know this.

00:48I don't think so.

00:49There's not, right?

00:50No, I don't think so.

00:51Hockey did that.

00:52All the other sports have done that, I believe.

00:54Well, hockey and basketball have a limit.

00:55Yeah, no, you're right.

00:56Football.

00:57Every sport except baseball.

00:57Yeah.

00:58After Rick DiPietro, the NHL was like, enough of that.

01:00Does football have one?

01:01Maybe football doesn't, but who's signing a hundred?

01:03It's the short shelf life.

01:04Even if you sign somebody for 10 years, it's just guaranteed money in the first two years,

01:07and it's all fake.

01:08But basketball does to protect the GMs.

01:12Hockey obviously does now.

01:14I don't think baseball has a cap.

01:14Yeah, DiPietro and Kovalchuk have these insane deals.

01:16I don't think baseball has a cap.

01:18Because when we were talking about the last couple of years, guys,

01:22we've seen, what, 10, 11, 12, 13-year deals, I think.

01:26Actually, didn't Fernando Tatis, I'll look this up.

01:29He signed a crazy deal.

01:30Yeah, Tatis has a long deal.

01:33Who are some of the other players that signed early?

01:35I mean, Otani just got 10 years last year.

01:36I think Betts had a pretty long deal, didn't he?

01:38The longest current deal in the Major League Baseball is a 14-year deal

01:42signed by Fernando Tatis Jr.

01:44Bryce Harper got 13.

01:45There you go.

01:45Harper got 13.

01:46Stanton got 13.

01:47Trout, Betts, Yamamoto, and Julio Rodriguez are all 12.

01:51So he wants 15 years, which would be the most years?

01:5415 would take him through his age 41 season or something like that.

01:57But doesn't he also want opt-outs after, like, three and four?

01:59Probably.

02:00So he wants $700 million.

02:02A lot of Otani's contract was deferred.

02:05It's believed that Soto isn't interested in deferred money.

02:08So not only does he want the money, he wants it.

02:11And this is, I never got why Otani structured his deal that way.

02:14No, he's like, give me the money now.

02:15I want the money now.

02:17So $700 million divided by 15 would be $46.6.

02:24Average annual.

02:24I'll be honest.

02:25I don't even hate the AAV.

02:26The 15 years is ridiculous.

02:27So $46.6 would be the second highest average annual value behind, obviously, Shohei Otani.

02:34He's 10 for $700.

02:35OK.

02:35He's 26.

02:36He just hit the market.

02:37Now, Billy, what did you say you saw an update here in the last 15 minutes or so?

02:43Hector Gomez.

02:43Yep.

02:44He said, source, the Red Sox increased their original offer to Juan Soto both in years

02:49and total value.

02:50OK.

02:50So they went from $2 and $50.

02:52So is that a good or a bad thing?

02:54Keef, they're already increasing their offer.

02:56Does that mean?

02:57Holy crap.

02:58We were there originally.

02:59Holy crap.

03:00We were so far off.

03:01Yeah.

03:02Or were they just the first to meet with them?

03:03They made an offer.

03:04Other people up their offer.

03:05And now they're keeping the pace.

03:07It depends.

03:07Did they say, did Juan Soto and Scott Boris say no?

03:11Or were they just like, OK, like, we'll take it under consideration.

03:14I think if they're taking a second, if they're making a second offer, I think it's under

03:16consideration.

03:17No, no, no.

03:18I'm saying the first one was the first offer under consideration.

03:20Or did they look at the first one and be like, seriously,

03:22here's my guess.

03:23The Red Sox probably lowballed them for sure.

03:25They met with strategy.

03:26Yeah, that's worked out.

03:27So it's brilliant.

03:28So they probably lowballed them.

03:30Then Boris and Soto met with after the Red Sox and Mets.

03:35Were those the first two he met with?

03:36Yeah.

03:36He met with the Yankees and someone else.

03:38Maybe Blue Jays.

03:39Yeah.

03:39Well, the Blue Jays think they had a meeting.

03:41Maybe they didn't.

03:41So I just wonder if the Red Sox made an offer.

03:44They went into the other ones.

03:46And Scott Boris said, oh, by the way, here's what those teams offered.

03:49Can you match it?

03:50Can you up it?

03:50Can you do X, Y, and Z?

03:53And the Red Sox have upped their offer.

03:55It doesn't mean they matched the highest offer on the board, but they've upped their offer.

03:58Like Boris, unlike last year when Boris was negotiating Jordan Montgomery and Blake Snell,

04:04which he fumbled badly.

04:06Both those guys.

04:07He is in the catbird seat now with Soto in the prime of his career.

04:11You have the marquee teams all bidding.

04:13I wonder if he straight up tells them what other teams have offered or if he just says

04:17like your offer is not the highest right now.

04:20And then is it more like a blind bid?

04:22Or are they like, oh, that's what they're offering.

04:25We'll match that.

04:27I don't know.

04:28I mean, it can't be a bad thing that they're upping the money.

04:33But I wonder how quick that was.

04:34It's like, hey, here's our offer.

04:35And it's like, oh, you're still talking to the teams?

04:37Like, we're going up again.

04:39There's two ways to look at it.

04:41They'll up it again.

04:41There's two ways to look at it.

04:42Either they did their first lowball offer.

04:44And they're like, holy crap, we're so far away.

04:46Let's make a more respectable lowball offer so that it's not completely

04:50embarrassing when the news leaks out what he signed for and what we offer because it

04:52will leak out.

04:53Or it's the other thing.

04:55We made an offer.

04:56We felt it was competitive.

04:57It got up by New York to keep him.

04:59And now we're upping our offer to outleverage them.

05:02I'm not telling you I know the answer.

05:03But it's one of those two things.

05:05If you would.

05:06So would you be willing to go 15 years?

05:07I was going to ask.

05:08And let me ask you a little differently.

05:10Would I be willing to go 15 years for Soto?

05:12Yeah.

05:13Is it smarter to go 15 years and 700 million for Juan Soto?

05:19Yeah, that's silly.

05:20Or is it smarter to do the Bob Nightingale plan that came out the other day that the Red Sox

05:24want not one but two of Corbin Burns, Max Freed, Blake Snell.

05:29So is it smarter to sign two starting pitchers than Juan Soto for 15 years, 700 million?

05:36I still want Soto.

05:37I think so.

05:38I love Burns.

05:38I don't know.

05:39I probably paused because of Burns.

05:41But I don't know that it's smarter.

05:43No.

05:43But the Red Sox need.

05:47They need a household name and a superstar.

05:50That's what they need.

05:50And I think it just adds so much more.

05:53Not that Soto is like a polarizing figure, but getting him from the Yankees and then

05:59having him go up against the Yankees now, like, add so much more juice to that rivalry,

06:05which is needs a little kick in the shorts.

06:07So, yeah, I would still lead that just because I like Max Freed.

06:11But he's no, like, guaranteed, like, stud-side young guy.

06:14Burns is closer to that.

06:15None of this whole show likes Blake Snell.

06:17None of us.

06:18Nobody does.

06:18Yeah.

06:19So, yeah, I think those pitchers like Max Freed and Blake Snell or Juan Soto.

06:22Juan Soto.

06:23Like Juan Soto plays every day.

06:24Yeah.

06:25And I know any player can get hurt all the time.

06:27It just feels like baseball players get hurt or pitchers get hurt all the time.

06:30I think you're right.

06:32They'd also get the.

06:33I think there's a benefit to stealing a player away from the Yankees.

06:36I'm not even talking head to head in the standings.

06:38Oh, we made them weaker and we got better.

06:40There's that benefit.

06:41Yeah.

06:41But there's also Red Sox fans going, oh, we outspent New York.

06:44They want to.

06:45We outspent the Yankees.

06:46We outspent Steve Cohen in the Mets.

06:48The Dodgers aren't even in.

06:50Like, we outspent those teams.

06:52There would be a real benefit to fans reinvesting and recommitting to the team because you did

06:57that.

06:58One thing.

06:58And I know it's the cost of doing business, but if you have your biggest free agent signing

07:03in, I don't know, seven years, it'd be way bigger than what you had before.

07:07I mean, David Price was a huge contract, but this is another whole stratosphere of

07:12contracts.

07:13The cost of doing business often is giving these players these opt outs.

07:18But that to me is like a little deflating.

07:20Like, if you finally come together and you give a 15 year deal and $700 million, here

07:27we go.

07:28And then he has three really good years and he ops out and he hits free agency before

07:32he's 30 and you have to start it all over again.

07:35I'm still doing it.

07:36I hate it though.

07:37I mean, it's not ideal.

07:39You want him.

07:40Bryce Harper signed a deal with Philly with no opt outs, which is kind of unique at this

07:45point.

07:45Usually these guys all have these little ways.

07:47They have the cost of doing business is an opt out.

07:49I'm doing it.

07:50It's just frustrating.

07:51I know it's still a good deal and you still have the player and maybe he'll resign, but

07:56it's like, is he looking for more money after that?

07:59I mean, you're sure everybody in the world is looking for more money, but I think is

08:02that what it is?

08:02And I think his immediate comments after they lost the World Series about, yeah, I'm going

08:06to the highest bidder.

08:07And the fact he's already on his third team, like, yeah, he's a mercenary and he wants

08:11the most money.

08:12There's nothing wrong with that.

08:13I don't think.

08:14And so, yeah, he's going to have an opt out three or four years in.

08:16I pay him and then we'll reevaluate in three or four years.

08:19What do you guys think?

08:20Red Sox have made an offer.

08:21They've upped their offer to Juan Soto.

08:23Are they lowballing him?

08:24Are they doing it for PR clicks, headlines, et cetera?

08:28Or are they really in?

08:29You can jump in 617-779-7937.

08:32We've talked Celtics, Bruins, Red Sox here in the first hour of Jones and Keefe.

08:36What was that?

08:36Ken just sent us some Juan Soto thing.

08:38What is this?

08:39Is it like some promotional thing?

08:41Yes.

08:42Okay.

08:44It's not him.

08:45I haven't seen it.

08:46It's some nonsense.

08:47He's like sponsoring something.

08:50And it's Juan Soto on Instagram sitting in front of a bunch of microphones and then announcing

08:55that he's got some like energy drink.

08:57Nice.

08:57But Ken says there's a red microphone in there.

09:03Follow the clues.

09:04Red?

09:04Yeah.

09:05Just like the Red Sox, Jones.

09:06Oh, the Red Sox.

09:08Cincinnati?

09:08Yeah.

09:10I was thinking Cardinals.

09:11The Dakos team, the Cincinnati Reds.

09:13Mystery team, the St. Louis Cardinals.

09:16Thank you, Ken.

09:17Thank you very much.

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