Juan Soto, who helped the Yankees reach the World Series this past season, had a three-hour meeting with the Red Sox on Thursday night. Soto is the most sought after free agent on the market this offseason. Godofredo A. Vásquez/Associated Press

The Boston Red Sox met with free-agent outfielder Juan Soto in southern California on Thursday night, according to a source with knowledge of the get-together, in what was termed a “productive” first session.

Team President Sam Kennedy, Chairman Tom Werner, Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow and Manager Alex Cora represented the Red Sox, who offered a formal presentation to Soto and his representatives, including agent Scott Boras, designed to introduce Soto to the team. The meeting lasted approximately three hours.

The Red Sox presentation included a video highlighting the franchise’s history of star players from the Dominican Republic, Soto’s native country. The Red Sox laid out their plans for the future and highlighted the crop of soon-to-be-arriving top prospects while giving a detailed outline of ownership and Fenway Sports Group.

In turn, Soto wanted to know about the team’s commitment to winning, player evaluation methods, and Fenway Park and its facilities.

The Red Sox did not discuss money or term with Soto, as the meeting was largely introductory and informational in nature. Boston did not make a formal offer at this early stage of the superstar’s free agent process. Soto, 26, may be seeking a contract for longer than 10 years and the total value of his deal is expected to top $500 million, with some estimates pegged at equaling Shohei Ohtani’s landmark 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Soto is set to remain in southern California through early next week for additional meetings with teams. The New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and New York Mets, among others, are known to be interested. A four-time All-Star, Soto is the top free agent in this class, having won a Silver Slugger award in five of his seven seasons in the big leagues. He has a career slash line of .285/.421/.532 with 201 homers.

Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran had the best season of his career in 2024, including being named MVP of the All-Star Game. He was named to the All-MLB second team on Friday. Julio Cortez/Associated Press

JARREN DURAN’s strong 2024 season was rewarded Thursday night when he was named to the All-MLB second team.

The Red Sox outfielder played in 160 games for Boston and batted .285 with 21 home runs, 75 RBI, 48 doubles, 14 triples and a .492 slugging percentage. Duran was also named to his first All-Star team and earned MVP honors after hitting a go-ahead two-run home run to help lift the American League to a 5-3 win.

His 48 doubles and 14 triples were first in MLB. According to J.P. Long, Duran was MLB’s first player to ever have 10-plus triples, 20-plus home runs, 30-plus steals and 40-plus doubles in a season.

Duran also had a strong showing in the outfield with 23 runs saved – second most in the league for 2024.

The turnaround came after a 2023 campaign that was cut short by a toe injury suffered at Yankee Stadium, when Duran tried to climb the wall to catch a home run.

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts was named to the All-MLB first team over Duran despite playing fewer games in the outfield than Duran. Betts also saw time at second base and shortstop for the World Series winners.

Duran emerged as a leader and a star for the Red Sox, though it didn’t come without incident. Duran was caught on a hot mic using a homophobic slur toward a fan in August at Fenway Park. He issued an apology and served a two-game suspension as a result.