Shohei Ohtani to the Crimson Sox? One MLB insider says there’s an opportunity.

Crimson Sox

“They’ve the wherewithal and the chance to make up for the lack of Mookie Betts, in the event that they select.”

The Boston Crimson Sox may very well be a participant within the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes, one insider says. Ronald Martinez/Getty

The Crimson Sox have hardly ever been talked about as main gamers within the bidding battle for Shohei Ohtani that can happen this offseason. However some individuals consider that Boston wouldn’t be a far-fetched vacation spot for the two-way famous person subsequent yr.

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On Thursday, The New York Put up’s Jon Heyman gave the Crimson Sox 14-1 odds of signing Ohtani this winter. That offers the Crimson Sox the fourth-highest odds to signal Ohtani, trailing solely the Los Angeles Dodgers (2-1), San Diego Padres (7-1) and his present workforce, the Los Angeles Angels (12-1). 

Heyman cited that Boston’s excessive placement is partially as a consequence of a perception that Ohtani’s reported want to remain close to the Pacific Ocean is “overstated.” The Crimson Sox rank larger on Heyman’s checklist than some other non-California workforce as a result of they’ve the monetary sources to make a deal occur, if that’s how they need to use them.

“[The Red Sox] have the wherewithal and the chance to make up for the lack of Mookie Betts, in the event that they select,” Heyman wrote. “Some consider the alleged West Coast desire is overstated.”

To say that Ohtani had an ideal season can be a large understatement. Ohtani has a triple slash of .304/.405/.664 with a 183 OPS+, 91 RBIs and an MLB-leading 44 dwelling runs in his third-straight All-Star season. As a pitcher, Ohtani boasts a 3.14 ERA (144 ERA+) and a 1.061 WHIP with 167 strikeouts to his title.

However tragedy struck on Wednesday, when Ohtani suffered a UCL tear in opposition to the Cincinnati Reds. He’ll proceed to hit this season, however Angels common supervisor Perry Minasian stated that Ohtani is not going to be pitching once more in 2023. 

This damage will nearly definitely have an effect on Ohtani’s free company market, however it’s unclear to what extent. However even when he doesn’t obtain the $600 million that many gamers predicted he would get earlier than his damage, Heyman believes that the famous person’s subsequent contract will nonetheless be a minimum of $500 million.

“Even enjoying half his all-world recreation for now,” Heyman stated, “Shohei Ohtani would be the greatest free agent ever.”

Will the Crimson Sox signal the soon-to-be “greatest free agent ever”? Heyman believes that, on the very least, they’ve a sensible shot.