The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees engage in one of the fiercest rivalries in all of sports each year. But this offseason, that rivalry dives even deeper than when the two American League East powerhouses match up on the field.

Yankees superstar outfielder Juan Soto is a free agent and New York is desperately trying to sign him back. But the Red Sox are also going after Soto much more aggressively than anyone thought they would.

Boston was one of the first teams to meet with Soto in person and did so this week. Team President Sam Kennedy, Chairman Tom Werner, Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow and Manager Alex Cora were all there in person to meet with Soto and his representation.

According to MassLive’s Sean McAdam, the three-hour meeting went very well for the Red Sox as Soto was reportedly impressed with what Boston brought to the table.

“Soto was said to be impressed by the Red Sox’s presentation, which included a video that chronicled the franchise’s history of star players from the Dominican Republic, Soto’s native country,” McAdam wrote. “The Red Sox laid out their plans for the future and highlighted the crop of soon-to-be top prospects while providing a detailed overview of ownership and the Fenway Sports Group.”

In the lead-up to these meetings, the Red Sox were seen as an afterthought in the Soto races, but after this meeting, there seems to be some traction there.

There was no formal offer on the table and there likely won’t be one for a while, but if the Red Sox believe they have the money to compete in a bidding war with the Yankees, New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays, this offseason could be very interesting .

Soto landing in Boston for the next 15 years would be enough to fuel nightmares in the Bronx for a century.

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