MLB Rumors: Red Sox Ohtani favorites, Cubs rotation shake-up, Mariners surge

MLB Rumors: Red Sox one of the favorites to sign Shohei Ohtani in FA

The Shohei Ohtani injury that has left the Angels star with a torn UCL that he will continue to play DH through this season is a brutal blow for all involved. But at the same time, it has made Ohtani's looming free agency this offseason even more fascintating than it was always going to be. Most notably, it now appears far more teams are involved than there otherwise would've been.

One such team who could be more in the mix and, crucially, who may have been more in play all along: the Boston Red Sox.

New York Post MLB insider Jon Heyman ranked the favorites to sign Ohtani in free agency this offseason and, after the Dodgers, Padres and Angels, gave the Red Sox the fourth-best odds to sign the two-way superstar this offseason. He noted that Boston and Chaim Bloom have the means to make up for losing Mookie Betts and, more importantly, that Ohtani's preference to stay on the West Coast has been "overstated".

Bloom's operation of the Red Sox has been under heavy criticism after losing stars like Betts and Xander Bogaerts in recent years, though the team was able to lock up star third baseman Rafael Devers this past offseason. But the club also has long developed a keen relationship with Japanese stars from Daisuke Matsusaka previously to Masataka Yoshida in this year's free agency class. That could work in their favor with Ohtani.

Obviously, the uncertainty surrounding the UCL injury for Ohtani does bring about some concern when it comes to the likely AL MVP. At the same time, though, he remains a generational and all-time-level talent who could be an All-Star playing just one way. The Red Sox need that type of splash to get over the hump and, while they aren't the leaders according to Heyman's intel, they could very well have a real shot at making that splash.