“The Sox’s biggest need is a top-of-the-rotation starter,” Rosenthal wrote. “If they come away with Soto, they might prefer to complement him with a trade for the Chicago White Sox’s Garrett Crochet, who will earn a projected $2.9 million in arbitration and remain under club control through 2026.”

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The Red Sox are already bracing for the possibility that Juan Soto signs elsewhere in free agency with other teams hot on his tail.