Inside The Red Sox

Red Sox’s Kenley Jansen Gave Shohei Ohtani Recruiting Pitch To Boston

Ohtani to Boston feels a tad more realistic

Scott Neville

Red Sox’s Kenley Jansen Gave Shohei Ohtani Recruiting Pitch To Boston
Red Sox’s Kenley Jansen Gave Shohei Ohtani Recruiting Pitch To Boston /
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The Boston Red Sox have proven to be a fringe contender this season but have the resources to jump further into that conversation next year -- and one veteran is doing everything he can to get some coals in the fire.

The Red Sox will enter 2024 with a reset luxury tax, -- allowing them to spend -- a stocked farm system and their star Rafael Devers locked up for a decade. They will have the ability to go out and get some star power, something Kenley Jansen already is recruiting for. 

Jansen was seen talking with Los Angeles superstar Shohei Ohtani, and fans started to dream that he spent that time recruiting. It turns out, they were right.

When asked how his conversation with Ohtani went, he had an emphatic answer.

"Really good, really good, You know I can't say anything but really good, Jansen told WEEI's Rob Bradford. "Hopefully... we'll see, we'll see." 

If you are wondering why he can't say anything or why he stopped himself, it's because of Major League Baseball's tampering rules, implying that he tried to recruit the two-way sensation.

"I would love to have him as my teammate," Jansen said in reference to Ohtani. "I'm telling you that right now. I got one year left here with the Red Sox and would love to have him as my teammate."

When asked if he talked to Ohtani about Boston, he got a little tense -- broaching tampering once again.

"Yeah, yeah, we'll see," Jansen said. "We got a great team this year and we'll see. So if you ask me yes, I would love to have him as my teammate."

Jansen did not spend the entire conversation trying to push Ohtani to Boston but clearly took the time to make a pitch.

Ohtani also was seen with David Ortiz, someone who's not shy about his love for Boston and would have no issue spending that conversation trying to recruit the man. Later in the day, he said on the FOX broadcast that Ohtani would be the one player he'd wish Boston would trade for at the deadline.

Now, the Ortiz part is purely speculation but what Jansen revealed is worthy of generating excitement. If Red Sox ownership goes all-in for Ohtani, he'll not only remember this conversation but have a point of contact for any and all questions he might have. Ohtani also played with star outfielder Masataka Yoshida on Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic.

The Red Sox likely will be seen as underdogs heading into the Ohtani sweepstakes but there is a growing narrative where he ends up in Boston.

More MLB: Ex-Red Sox Utility Man Signs Overseas After Opting Out Of Deal With Boston

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Scott Neville
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

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