The Boston Red Sox have yet to make a major move this offseason, but it hasn’t been for a lack of trying.
The two biggest chips to fall in baseball this winter have been Shohei Ohtani and Giancarlo Stanton. The Japanese two-way star signed a free-agent deal with the Los Angeles Angels, while the Miami Marlins dealt the reigning National League MVP to the New York Yankees.
While it appears the Red Sox didn’t make a considerable effort to bring in Stanton, the same can’t be said for Ohtani. During Day 2 of the MLB Winter Meetings on Tuesday, team president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski touched on Boston’s pursuit of the 23-year-old.
Dombrowski on Red Sox's Ohtani pursuit: "It was something the organization worked on for a long time. Couple of people that really focused on it for years."
— Christopher Smith (@SmittyOnMLB) December 12, 2017
Multiple factors led to the Sox being weeded out of the Ohtani sweepstakes. He reportedly wasn’t interested in playing in a massive market and preferred a West Coast club over a team in the East. With that in mind, the Angels were about as perfect of a fit as he could have hoped.
But while the Red Sox missed out on Ohtani, there still are a number of marquee free agents available who could be on Boston’s radar.