THE Boston Red Sox were surprisingly competitive in the Juan Soto draw, feeling at times like a clear second place behind the New York Mets. There were even times when it felt like Boston might be leading the pack. Obviously, Steve Cohen made sure that Soto didn’t land anywhere else. In the process, however, Craig Breslow, John Henry and the Red Sox organization proved that they took the competition seriously.

This immediately puts Boston at the front of the line for the next available superstar. Kyle Tucker is a free agent next season, although his recent move in Chicago and the Cubs’ subsequent efforts to re-sign him could complicate the path for Boston. However, another upcoming free agent who might even become available before the trade deadline is Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Long considered a dream addition for Boston, the All-Star first baseman is starting to feel more accessible by the day.

On the one hand, his mandate within the Toronto Blue Jays seems…unfortunate, to say the least. Guerrero has made his love for Toronto known, but failing to bring in Juan Soto – and then failing to come up with a successful Plan B as of this writing – puts his future in uncertain conditions.

Guerrero reportedly rejected a $340 million expansion of the Blue Jays.

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Let’s go through the list. We can pretty much translate Juan Soto’s list of suitors directly to Guerrero, whose contract could reach $500 million with a strong 2025 campaign. Only a few teams will benefit from the funding, and Toronto is one of them. If he decides to leave the Blue Jays – and who could blame him – the Red Sox feels awfully logical.

We can probably write off the Yankees because of Guerrero’s stated hatred of the Bronx Bombers. Now, enough money could always change Guerrero’s tone, but few players speak out so strongly against an organization as a whole.

I’m just going to quote his words Exactly:

“I love playing in New York. I love killing the Yankees. I would never sign with the Yankees even in death.”

So, no Toronto (organizational ineptitude) and no Yankees (organizational hatred).

What about the Mets? Well, Soto’s $765 million contract is expected to stand in the way of future megaprojects, not to mention the probable return from fan-favorite first baseman Pete Alonso. So not the Mets either.

The Dodgers are still hiding, but Los Angeles has Freddie Freeman at first base and probably doesn’t want to bet billions of dollars on Guerrero playing third base adequately for the next decade. Los Angeles hasn’t been able to bid at the same level as teams in New York or Boston when it comes to Soto, so one would have to imagine that remains the case for Guerrero, if there is even interest in to start.

That leaves…Boston, essentially. We might see other big spenders, like Houston or San Francisco, try to join the mix, but the Red Sox offer a team-friendly ballpark and tons of history — not to mention a great opportunity for Guerrero to “kill » the Yankees, on a regular basis and with an additional import. I’m just saying.

We talked about Rafael Devers move to first basebut the Red Sox can abandon those plans in a heartbeat if or when Guerrero hits the market. This isn’t necessarily a guaranteed partnership, but if we wanted to bet on Guerrero’s next team, the Red Sox might be your best option.