Red Sox Reportedly Among Favorites To Sign Shohei Ohtani Post-Injury

Boston could desperately use a two-way star

Scott Neville | Aug 25, 2023

Red Sox Reportedly Among Favorites To Sign Shohei Ohtani Post-Injury /

In this story:

Boston Red Sox

Would the Boston Red Sox go all-in for Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani this winter?

Most of the fanbase likely believes a move of that gargantuan caliber would be too unrealistic with Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom at the helm, but one national insider could see it happen.

"(Boston has) the wherewithal and the opportunity to make up for the loss of Mookie Betts, if they choose," The New York Post's Jon Heyman wrote Thursday. "Some believe the alleged West Coast preference is overstated."

Heyman gave Boston the fourth-best odds to land Ohtani, behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Angels. He gave the Red Sox 14-to-1 odds, which has them at a 6.67% chance to bring in the two-way sensation.

Ohtani's torn UCL complicates matters but does make him more of a realistic target for the Red Sox as his price must come down to some degree. That said, if the Japanese superstar can hit next season and only misses one year on the mound, his value still will be immensely high.

The 29-year-old currently leads the American League in runs scored (97), triples (seven), home runs (44), walks (78), on-base percentage (.405), slugging percentage (.664), OPS (1.069) and total bases (310). Making matters even more absurd, he also leads the AL in ERA+ (144) and all of Major League Baseball in hits-per-nine innings (5.8) as a pitcher.

Ohtani is the best hitter in baseball with a league-leading 183 OPS+ and the best pitcher in the AL with the aforementioned 144 ERA+ in 126 games played. It's remarkable and going to make him one of the highest-paid athletes of all time despite his injured elbow.

Bloom is unlikely to invest so highly in one individual but the Red Sox surely will have interest. If anything, it might be a situation where ownership demands that the front office make Ohtani the priority given his marketability.

That is the best hope for fans pleading for Boston to land the greatest of all time. That said, as we've seen with the Angels for years, investing half of the team's payroll in a couple of players has not always been the best strategy.

The Red Sox likely would be better off spreading those resources amongst a few frontline starters.

More MLB: Mookie Betts Denies Report That Red Sox Made Him $300 Million Offer Before Trade

Published Aug 25, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu