Red Sox 'Going To Be Involved' In Shohei Ohtani Free-Agent Sweepstakes
Would the Boston Red Sox make a serious pursuit of Los Angeles Angels' impending free-agent Shohei Ohtani this offseason?
There is budding optimism that the Red Sox will make a valiant effort should Ohtani reach free agency this winter.
"I do think if he gets to free agency -- which is exceedingly likely, I do think the Red Sox are going to be involved," MassLive's Chris Cotillo said on his podcast "The Fenway Rundown" on Friday. "I've always thought that. They are a global brand. Japanese players have had success here. Obviously, (Masataka) Yoshida's here now. They've had (Hideki) Okajima, Dice-K, (Hirokazu) Sawamura that have come through.
"I think it's going to be an attractive place for him potentially and obviously there's going to be a lot of teams: the (Los Angeles) Dodgers, (New York) Mets, maybe the (New York) Yankees. But, the Red Sox I think are going to be involved, I just don't think (they will be) at the trade deadline."
Cotillo is one of the most locked-in Red Sox reporters in the game and his word should be trusted. He's not a guy that's going to throw something out there for views or clicks, and he has Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom's number. That's not to say his take was sourced information, but his educated guess is as good as any.
Ohtani is hitting .266 with seven extra-base hits including five home runs, 13 RBIs and an .825 OPS in 21 games. While those numbers are impressive, he also happens to be the best pitcher on the planet right now -- granted it's very early.
The 28-year-old has posted a league-leading 0.64 ERA with a 38-to-15 strikeout-to-walk ratio and an immaculate .092 batting average against in 28 innings across five starts. Ohtani also leads the league with a 700 ERA+ and 2.6 hits per nine innings without surrendering a home run.
Last season the two-way sensation finished second in American League MVP voting and fourth in Cy Young voting.
Ohtani is the best player in Major League Baseball and will warrant a contract so large that only a few teams will have the means to make an offer -- Boston being one of them.
Red Sox chairman Tom Werner explained earlier in the season that Ohtani will be worth every penny he's offered to whichever team he lands on -- which bodes well for ownership's interest in the global superstar.
Ohtani did not make any grand gesture regarding the Red Sox but did say Fenway Park was one of his favorite ballparks, which could keep Boston in the running for his services.
It's far too early to accurately predict what will happen with Ohtani but he's likely to test free agency and if the Red Sox actually are going to make an honest effort to acquire him, that's good enough for me as it stands in April.
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