Red Sox Reportedly Could Pursue Shohei Ohtani In Free Agency, Not Via Trade

Could Ohtani actually end up in Boston?

The Boston Red Sox should not trade for Los Angeles Angels two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani at the upcoming trade deadline, but a pursuit in free agency would make a lot of sense.

Boston has not put itself in a position to truly go for it in 2023 and giving up a haul for two months of one player does not make a whole lot of sense for the Red Sox -- even if that player arguably is the greatest of all time. 

Everything Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has put into motion lately has been for 2024, and that plan will not change. With that said, Ohtani does become an interesting target in free agency. 

Boston will enter the winter with a reset luxury tax, -- meaning they essentially can spend freely for three seasons -- a plethora of top prospects entering the upper levels of the minor leagues and with the face of their franchise, Rafael Devers, locked up for a decade. A pursuit of star power would not only make sense for Bloom but also for the ownership group, according to MassLive's Sean McAdam.

"A marriage between Ohtani and FSG would make a great deal of sense," McAdam wrote Friday. "Ohtani is the most popular baseball player in the world, known internationally. The marketing opportunities would be endless. Signing Ohtani would further the Red Sox brand across the globe and enhance the company’s other holdings.

"Locally, think of what Ohtani would mean to ticket sales at Fenway or ratings for NESN. The ballpark would be sold out every night - as it was for the first decade of the current ownership’s reign. NESN numbers would spike, especially on nights when Ohtani pitched as well as hit.

Then there’s the team’s recently revealed plans to further develop the neighborhood around the ballpark - a $1.6 billion investment. Think that would be enhanced by Ohtani’s presence? Try imagining what the souvenir store might look like on a given night."

McAdam makes a bunch of strong points, and Red Sox part-owner Tom Werner already has claimed that whoever lands Ohtani this winter will make their money back in spades due to Ohtani's marketing value. 

The Red Sox are not going to be favored in the Ohtani sweepstakes but it's likely that they'll be involved. There's a good chance the ownership group gives Bloom an extra push to do so, though they've reportedly stayed out of his way thus far.

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