MLB Rumors: Shohei Ohtani Won’t Sign With Red Sox, Yankees; Mariners, Giants Finalists

UPDATE (6:28 p.m. ET):  The Boston Red Sox also are out of the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes. The Twins reportedly are out as well.

ORIGINAL STORY: One of the favorites to land Shohei Ohtani reportedly already is out of the running.

The New York Yankees were expected by many to be the team to land the Japanese Babe Ruth, as they had a rich history with international players and had $3.5 million left in their international signing pool.

But the 23-year-old star reportedly isn’t interested in being a member of the Bronx Bombers, as MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch reported Sunday that Ohtani has informed the Yankees he will not be signing with them.

Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan reported that the San Francisco Giants and Seattle Mariners are two of the finalists for the two-way star.

And FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reported Sunday that Ohtani would prefer to go to a small-market team.

Ohtani must be signed by midnight on Dec. 22, so we would expect this process to be finished fairly quickly.