1 team appears out of the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes, and it's not the Red Sox

The Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes is likely to end with the richest contract in baseball history.

The Boston Red Sox have been a rumored destination for Ohtani for weeks. Fans throughout the Olde Town have been glued to their televisions, tablets, and phones, hoping to get a sliver of information that leads Red Sox Nation to believe that signing Ohtani is, indeed, a possibility.

Well, here's one good nugget that will help -- it appears as though the Seattle Mariners are all but out in the chase to sign Ohtani this winter.

1 team appears out of the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes, and it's not the Red Sox

According to Daniel Kramer of MLB.com, sources are saying that that landing Shohei Ohtani doesn’t appear to be within the Mariners’ realistic agenda this offseason.

Kramer cites a myriad of reasons that rumors have surfaced, including the lucrative contract offer, the Mariners budget, and investing so many resources into one player.

This is, of course, great news for the Boston Red Sox. While the Seattle Mariners were always seen as a bit of dark horse to land the Japanese superstar, the more teams fall by the wayside, the more likely it is that Ohtani touches down in Boston.

FanSided's Robert Murray discussed during the Baseball Insiders Podcast this past week that he expects Shohei Ohtani to sign before the MLB Winter Meetings.

Even though the Mariners now appear to be out of the running, the New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, New York Mets, and Chicago Cubs are all thought to be in the mix.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are the favor at the moment, but things can turn on a dime during the Hot Stove season. Ohtani's relationship with New Balance CEO Jim Davis is something that no other franchise can match, so at least the Red Sox have that in their favor.