The biggest free agent in baseball history is all but certain to change teams in a matter of weeks.
Once signed, his deal will in all likelihood be the most lucrative in the sport’s history for a player who has redefined modern-day stardom in baseball.
Shohei Ohtani is no longer just “Babe Ruth reincarnated” as I’ve liked to call him. He’s even better.
And it’s time for John Henry and the Boston Red Sox to “Sho” him the money.
Star of the Sho.
— Gethin Coolbaugh (@GethinCoolbaugh) May 5, 2022
Sometimes, you have to shut the laptop, leave the press box, go sit in the stands and just watch the game.
Shohei Ohtani pitching and hitting in the same game is one of those times. Babe Ruth reincarnated. #Ohtani #GoHalos #DirtyWater pic.twitter.com/RmLCv8gbc0
Signing Ohtani would check a number of boxes for a franchise that is desperate for a retool on the field and a rebrand in the public eye. It would send a message that the Red Sox are back — and they mean business.
Most importantly, it would move them significantly closer to contending for their fifth World Series championship in nearly a quarter century.
The pros
(GETHIN COOLBAUGH)
Ohtani has shown an affinity for Red Sox Nation throughout his career. He’s said on numerous occasions that Fenway Park is one of his favorite places to play.
The numbers back that up. Ohtani has a lifetime .310 batting average with a pair of home runs and nine RBIs in 14 career games at Fenway. On the mound, he has recorded a staggering 14 strikeouts while allowing just one run over nine innings in two starts.
This guy is tailor-made for one of baseball’s greatest sanctuaries.
Could Ohtani’s kind words have simply been posturing and something he says about every team’s park (although I can’t imagine he’s ever waxed poetic about Tropicana Field…) knowing that all 30 teams would be interested in him?
Possibly, but the notion that Ohtani would be interested in playing for one of the marquee franchises of the 21st century isn’t crazy. Sure, the weather isn’t as nice here as it is in a West Coast market, but the climate for baseball — when the baseball is worth people’s time — is second to none.
As far as the baseball fit is concerned, let’s not waste everybody’s time. Ohtani’s skillset doesn’t require a deep dive. He does everything, and he does everything well. Of course, the Red Sox wouldn’t be getting the full Ohtani experience for the 2024 season…
The cons
Now at age 29, the injuries are starting to pile up for Ohtani. He won’t pitch for the entirety of the ’24 campaign as he recovers from surgery to repair a torn UCL in his pitching elbow, although he’ll be “DH ready” by Opening Day next April.
Ohtani has put a lot of baseball tread on his tires. Though only a major league veteran of six seasons, he’s been playing professionally since his age 18 season and spent five seasons in Japan. All told, he’s played 1,130 games of pro baseball in 11 seasons.
As impressive and unprecedented as Ohtani’s career has been, we know it has to come to an end someday. And before that end will likely come a steady — if not steep — decline. With his injury history and age all starting to add up, how wise is it to invest in Ohtani for the future?
Then there’s the cost — exorbitant, but not prohibitive. The going rate is still expected to be a whopping $500 million — possibly even $600 million — despite Ohtani’s elbow injury. It’s a lot of money, but it isn’t an unrealistic price for the Henry-owned Red Sox to pay.
Making sense (and cents)
(GETHIN COOLBAUGH)
Above all else, Henry is a businessman. Sure, he likes it when his teams succeed — but that’s because it makes him more money. And there is no question that signing Ohtani would be an extremely savvy business move.
Ohtani is the biggest star in the sport and one of the most well-known athletes across the globe. He brings a lot of eyeballs to the game and would likely return the ballpark to its nightly sellout status of the golden era in the late 2000s and early to mid 2010s.
The tickets, jerseys, television and advertisement revenue generated through Ohtani should leave any business-minded owner seeing dollar signs in their eyes.
It would also help rekindle the buzz in Boston the Red Sox have lacked ever since winning the 2018 World Series. Surprising as it is, a handful of last place finishes and mid-market talent acquisitions don't really move the needle much…
Again, people love baseball in Boston. Good baseball. When Henry and Co. insult fans’ intelligence with subpar rosters, they respond by paying attention to — and spending their money on — something else. Namely, the Celtics and Bruins… sorry Mac Jones and Bill Belichick, but you’re not interesting right now, either.
Boston sports fans are intelligent. They understand that you’re realistically not going to win a championship every season. But there’s no reason after two unparalleled decades of success that every team in Boston shouldn’t be competing for one every year.
If the Red Sox took the same path as the New York Mets last season, I believe the narrative surrounding the team would be different. Had Henry broken the bank like Steve Cohen did to bring in the games’ biggest stars and had the Red Sox flopped just like the Mets did, fans would be upset — but they wouldn’t be disinterested.
There’s a big difference between swinging for the fences and missing and trying to bunt to get on base. After four World Series titles in 19 years, fans naturally demand an ownership group that still wants to win at all costs.
This is a monster Henry himself created. Don’t like it, John? Sell the team to somebody who still wants to employ expensive baseball players.
Ohtani will have plenty of suitors, but the Red Sox remain in a unique position to stand toe-to-toe with the highest bidders. It’s time Henry puts his money where his mouth is and makes Ohtani a jaw-dropping offer he cannot refuse.
As a former Red Sox World Series hero’s t-shirt once boldly asked, “Why not us?”
Gethin Coolbaugh is a contributor to Boston Sports Journal. Follow him @GethinCoolbaugh on X.