Shohei Ohtani Rumors: Market unaffected by injury, FA sleeper, Padres out?
By Kristen Wong
Shohei Ohtani Rumors: Red Sox could be a sleeper team waiting to pounce in free agency
The Dodgers, with their prime West Coast location, and the Angels, with their convenient accommodations, are two of the favorites to sign Shohei Ohtani this winter.
A sleeper in the Ohtani sweepstakes isn't necessarily an out-of-the-blue candidate but a team in the race all along -- they've just camouflaged extremely well.
The Boston Red Sox haven't been tied to Ohtani as much as other franchises have this year, and that's working out just fine for them.
The Red Sox are not on the West Coast, and Ohtani has publicly said he wants to play on the West Coast. This fact has not changed.
But in the event Ohtani's West Coast bias is more of a casual preference (like, say, mayo on a burger) than a deal breaker, the Red Sox stand out as a potentially suitable match ready to lure Ohtani to the dark (er, East Coast) side.
FanSided's Cody Williams named the Red Sox as a club that's been in play for Ohtani all along this year. Even though Chaim Bloom has let fan-favorite stars like Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts walk, the Red Sox have a longstanding relationship with Japanese talent dating from Daisuke Matsusaka to Masataka Yoshida.
Bloom could be eyeing Ohtani as the best thing to happen to Boston since Tom Brady. Nay, Ohtani is even bigger than the G.O.A.T. himself at this point.