Juan Soto agreed to a 15-year, $765 million deal with the New York Mets on Sunday, heating things up at baseball’s winter meetings. Ashley Landis/Associated Press

DALLAS — The major league winter meetings started with a bang. Juan Soto agreeing to a 15-year, $765 million deal with the New York Mets broke a logjam that had some of the top-spending clubs waiting for a decision.

There wasn’t a flurry of announcements in the immediate aftermath Monday, but plenty of rumors were flying. The Boston Red Sox were one of several teams that just missed out on Soto, offering him a deal reportedly worth over $700 million. The Red Sox, New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays were all in on Soto; now all three AL East teams are pivoting to Plan B.

For Boston, that means pitching. Top-line starting pitchers are now taking center stage, with Corbin Burnes and Max Fried looking at nine-figure contracts. It’s a lot of money, but a lot less than what Soto got. And the Sox need a starting pitcher more than they need a left-handed bat, even if it’s in the hands of one of the game’s top hitters.

Talking to Red Sox front office staff in Boston, it would seem the left-handed Fried is a slightly better fit than Burnes. The Sox rotation is stocked with righties, and a left-handed ace would give Manager Alex Cora more versatility in any series. Make no mistake, either would help Boston.

The Red Sox are reportedly interesting in adding left-handed starting pitcher Max Fried. John Bazemore/Associated Press

So would a right-handed bat. That’s why talk of a Teoscar Hernandez or Alex Bregman signing picked up just moments after the Soto announcement. Either free agent would help balance Cora’s lineup, which is predominantly left-handed. Having a right-handed bat between Rafael Devers and Triston Casas would help fire up the engine that powers the Red Sox offense.

The Sox could add to either the offense or pitching staff via a trade. They have one of the top farm systems in the game, and certainly have the prospect capital to bring in a top-of-the-line starter like Garrett Crochet or a veteran slugger like Nolan Arenado.

Hitting on two or three of these plans could make the Sox a contender next year. Imagine an offense bolstered by Fried and Crochet, and a lineup with Hernandez driving bombs over the Green Monster. You could argue that’s a far more successful offseason than one that saw Soto and Soto only coming to town.

In recent years the meetings have been a bore. Deals are done before or, more often, after the meetings themselves. Last year teams waited months before top free-agent pitchers Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery signed.

That’s why the activity – even though it’s only in the discussion stage – is so much fun. This is a big week for the baseball industry. When news breaks at the winter meetings, there is a massive contingent of media on hand to cover it. Those reports fuel the hot stove discussions that teams want people to have over the holidays.

Last year the winter was hamstrung by free agents who waited well into the winter to make decisions. The Montgomery and Snell signings didn’t happen until spring training was starting. Teams were waiting to see if they could land either. Those who didn’t had little time to move on to other plans.

That’s not the case here. Soto made his decision early. Now we’ll see if the Red Sox are willing to use some of the money they offered him to improve the roster in other ways.

The buzz here in Dallas is that the Red Sox are acting like one of the most aggressive teams this offseason. Back in Boston, that’s good news. But after three years without a playoff appearance, fans want to see an official announcement before buying into the plan.

That plan, even if it’s Plan B, is coming together behind closed doors.

Tom Caron is a studio host for the Red Sox broadcast on NESN.