John Henry's lack of commitment cost the Red Sox Juan Soto in more ways than one

After a tough start to the 2024 offseason, things are finally trending up for the Boston Red Sox. Craig Breslow closed out the Winter Meetings with a bang, swinging a blockbuster trade for Chicago White Sox lefty Garrett Crochet — exactly the impact addition this rotation needed, and without giving up any of the team's top three prospects (or young MLB building blocks like Wilyer Abreu or Triston Casas). It sure took them long enough, but Boston's braintrust finally offered some evidence that they're willing to push their chips in and build a true contender.

Which is why we apologize in advance for having to rain ever so slightly on New England's parade. Not for any reason relating to the Crochet trade; by all means, continue to throw a party on that front. But if you're wondering whether the move means that the organization has turned over a new leaf under John Henry's ownership, new details about the team's failed pursuit of Juan Soto suggests otherwise.

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Red Sox ownership instability may have hurt their Juan Soto pitch

Now that Soto is officially a Met, we're beginning to learn more about his dramatic free agency. And it doesn't look too kindly on the Red Sox: First, ESPN's Jeff Passan and Buster Olney reported that Boston never even considered budging above the $700 million mark that it had set as its ceiling, leaving it well off the pace of the Mets and New York Yankees. Then came Soto's introductory press conference in Queens, at which his agent, Scott Boras, was asked about why exactly his client chose the Mets.

As part of his answer, Boras mentioned that New York's owner, Steve Cohen, had pledged to Soto that he'd own the team for the entirety of his 15-year contract.

We knew that Soto prioritized stability in his free agency, as well he should have: If he's going to sign away the rest of his professional career, he should have assurances that the person he makes that agreement with will still be around 15 years from now. But that's a problem for Henry and the Red Sox, who just went through months of speculation regarding a potential sale. Henry eventually put said speculation to rest, and it seems like he's committed to owning the team for the foreseeable future. But the fact that it was an open question in the very recent past can't have made Soto feel too good, especially considering that the team has missed the playoffs in each of the last three seasons — a direct result of a lack of investment from ownership.

Maybe this time really is different, and Henry and Breslow are ready to start throwing their weight around again and not get distracted by Premier League side hustles. It's going to take a lot more moves like the Crochet trade, however, to convince fans and players around the league that they mean it.