Shohei Ohtani has the 3 foundations needed to be a Red Sox superstar

Boston Red Sox fans, go ahead and close your eyes. Take a minute to just imagine

It’s Opening Day at Fenway Park.  The crowd is buzzing, and the hype is wild.  The flashes coming from every direction in the stands are outshining the bright sun of an early April afternoon.  After a Rafael Devers walk to load the bases in the bottom of the first inning, a roar lifts over Fenway, a roar heard throughout the New England region.

"Batting cleanup for the Boston Red Sox, Shoehei Ohtani!"

The crowd roars as the team’s biggest prize free agent this century steps to the plate after striking out the side to start the first inning. 

Now, open your eyes to the reality of the current state of the Red Sox. Over .500 but in last place in the American League East, that buzz you were just dreaming out is outlined in pessimism. 

Boston Red Sox legend believes Shohei Ohtani has legendary value

As MLB rumors are buzzing around Ohtani and his next destination either via trade or free agency, the Red Sox being in the mix of such a unique superstar doesn’t seem likely given the current ownership and how Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom likes to do business.

While Sox fans are clinging onto Devers, Masataka Yoshida and the promise of Triston Casas, the Red Sox brass should be fully in on Ohtani.  Now, the big question is whether they should go all in if the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim decide to trade Ohtani at the MLB Trade Deadline.

Red Sox legend David Ortiz wants to see that vision of Ohtani in a Sox uniform come true.

Big Papi told Boston.com on Thursday that a potential trade would bring the “wow” factor back to Boston.

What team in baseball would not like to have Ohtani? Wow. What a player. I’ve seen a lot of things in baseball, but I never saw that coming in our lifetime. And it’s here. When you think about how he can hit, and then the same guy can switch it over and pitches the way he pitches is insane.

“I’ll tell you this, a player like that needs to be on a winning ball clue because he’ll help you win. Anyone would like to have Ohtani now, but I don’t know if they’ll be able to get him because I don’t know if the Angels will let him go.

But, if they can’t sign him, why wouldn’t the Angels try to get as much as possible for him?  At this point, as Ortiz pointed out, a team giving up most of their top prospects for a possible rental would cause a team like the Red Sox to pause, especially with an executive like Bloom running the show.  As appealing as Ohtani would be, it would be better for Boston to play upset in the offseason and outbid some team like the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees or San Francisco Giants for the generational superstar.

Again, while those chances seem dim, the Red Sox legend couldn’t help but go on about the value and need for Ohtani.

First of all, he’d be playing for an historical organization, and he can make a difference.
He’s not just a good player, he’s a good leader. I saw that in the WBC. He told his teammates, ‘Hey listen, I know you admire those guys out there but just for this game, for the next few hours let’s try to shove it up their you-know-what, and then you go back to being a fan.’ He said that and I love it, because that’s the mentality when you go out there … and then he went and finished them. That was crazy.

What would be crazier is the Boston Red Sox shelling out historic money for Ohtani.  As the team sits just a few games over .500, there is a solution out there for the 3 foundations this team need: power hitting, pitching and leadership.

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