David Ortiz Seemed Uncertain About The Red Sox’s Pursuit Of Ohtani
The Boston Red Sox are happy to have David Ortiz direct their financial decisions. However, he will only be supporting Shohei Ohtani while wearing a Red Sox uniform.
The Boston Red Sox are happy to have David Ortiz direct their financial decisions. However, he will only be supporting Shohei Ohtani while wearing a Red Sox uniform.
In light of rumors that the Los Angeles Angels may try to move the star pitcher/designated hitter before the MLB trade deadline on August 1 to prevent letting him depart for nothing in 2024 free agency, Ohtani has been a hot subject of conversation during the MLB All-Star break.
On Thursday, a question on Boston’s potential ability to acquire Ohtani was posed to Ortiz, who works for the Red Sox as a “special assistant” and club ambassador.
David Ortiz spoke with “The Greg Hill Show” on WEEI, saying,
“Well, the reality is that you’re talking about the best player on earth. And to be able to get Shohei, I mean, you know that we are rebuilding.”
“The reality is that to get Shohei, whoever decides to get him is going to have to give away a lot. And for the Red Sox right now, we are trying to rebuild the farm. We have some good candidates coming up from the farm, and that’s something that I don’t know if the front office has discussed.”
By arguing that Ohtani is a generational talent who might provide the Red Sox with both an ace on their pitching staff and a terrifying middle-of-the-order hitter, you may refute that reasoning.
Ohtani is the league’s leading home run hitter and stands tied for fourth in MLB in pitching strikeouts. If Bloom gets the chance even to be considered for Ohtani, one could argue that he must take it.
To Ortiz’s point, Bloom’s Red Sox has emphasized replenishing the farm system while being cautious with their MLB expenditures. It’s challenging to imagine Bloom parting with top prospect Marcelo Mayer and young ace Brayan Bello, even to snag a player of Ohtani’s caliber. Bloom has yet to spend much money to acquire any superstar via trade or free agency, save for extending Rafael Devers and signing Trevor Story.
Bloom may make an exception for Ohtani, but David Ortiz would be the first to announce that Ohtani will be moving to Boston, and his lukewarm remarks on the matter imply that he doesn’t view the Red Sox as significant contenders in the Shohei sweepstakes.
