ESPN Lists Red Sox Among Potential Suitors For Shohei Ohtani

The 2023 Major League Baseball season concluded when the Texas Rangers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks in the World Series on Wednesday, and teams now can focus on the offseason with Shohei Ohtani expected to dominate headlines.

The 29-year-old phenom enters free agency, and the expectation within the industry is he could sign for half a billion dollars despite undergoing elbow surgery that will prevent him from pitching next season. But the fanfare and the once-in-a-generation talent Ohtani possesses will be enough to make the kind of megadeal he's likely to get worth it.

Ohtani's focus for his next team will be a franchise that can help him play postseason baseball for the first time in his career, according to multiple sources. It's why the Los Angeles Angels, who will try to retain the two-way star, aren't expected to be atop his list.

There is no official or reported shortlist from Ohtani's camp, but ESPN's Alden Gonzalez on Thursday listed 10 teams who will try to acquire the superstar's services, with the Boston Red Sox included.

"Ohtani, people around him say, has long been intrigued by Boston," Gonzalez wrote. "The fact that New Balance, which signed him to a massive endorsement deal, is based there might help. But the biggest factor for the Red Sox might be three last-place finishes over the past four years, and a distaste by their passionate fan base in the wake of (Mookie) Betts' departure. Signing Ohtani could repair a lot of that ill will. The question is: Will the Red Sox act like a true big-market team and actually spend this winter?"

Craig Breslow was introduced as Boston's new president of baseball operations, and while the 2013 World Series champion discussed his goals and hinted at possible moves he'd make as the new baseball head, Ohtani wasn't a pressing topic at his Thursday news conference.

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As Gonzalez wrote, there certainly are local ties for Ohtani, and Red Sox players did try to recruit the Japanese star during the All-Star Game this season. Masataka Yoshida also is a close friend of Ohtani, too.

The New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays also were listed as possible suitors, as well as the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets. Both of those clubs are coming off disappointing seasons and might see Ohtani as the splash move needed to get them over the top.

Breslow's introduction brought a lot of excitement and intrigue to Boston, and if the Red Sox did land Ohtani, that would increase exponentially. There also are other top players on the market like Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Juan Soto also could be up for grabs depending on how the San Diego Padres navigate the offseason.