Former Red Sox World Champion hints front office working hard on Shohei Ohtani
Could the Red Sox end up landing Shohei Ohtani this offseason?
While a lot of the rumor mill surrounding the Boston Red Sox has been regarding their front office and how things will look after the team fired Chaim Bloom. However, another very interesting rumor that has popped up in recent days has been about the possibility that Shohei Ohtani could join the Red Sox this offseason.
The Ohtani connection has been speculated for a while now, but things have escalated over the last couple of weeks with reports saying that Ohtani is very interested in joining the Red Sox due to his connection with New Balance which is based out of Massachusetts. Shohei's injury certainly clouds the picture a bit and the roster fit isn't the best, but Boston certainly shouldn't pass up the opportunity to see if they can get Ohtani and it sounds like they are looking hard at making a run at him.
Will Middlebrooks sure thinks the Red Sox are trying to sign Shohei Ohtani
While most of the speculation regarding Boston and Ohtani has been fairly circumstantial, former Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks doubled down on the idea of the Red Sox signing Shohei and strongly hinted that the front office is pushing hard to find a way to make it happen.
Some 👀🔥 from @middlebrooks today on @WAKEandRAKEpod:
— Boston Sports Gordo (@BOSSportsGordo) September 22, 2023
“There’s only so much I can say. They’re gonna take their chance … That front office right now, at this moment, is trying to find a way to get (Shohei Ohtani).” pic.twitter.com/USMEw8BLbM
It sure sounds like Middlebrooks has heard something from a source he trusts and honestly, it isn't that farfetched. Other than the Red Sox being on the east coast, a Red Sox-Ohtani pairing makes a ton of sense. For Shohei, it would put him close to his main shoe sponsor and put him in a big media market so that he can rake in the sponsor dollars while also being on a team that has a lot of young, interesting talent coming up.
For the Red Sox, the allure is clear: Shohei flat out sells tickets and prints money for a team. Aside from his production on the field which is ridiculous especially if he can be anywhere the pitcher he was before he got hurt, fans will flock to see Ohtani play from the four corners of the Earth and that offsets a chunk of the "but he is so expensive" problem.
Stay tuned, Red Sox fans. This is a crucial offseason coming up and it sounds like Boston may be looking to make a splash.
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