Dave Dombrowski Confirms Red Sox' Interest In Shohei Ohtani
BOSTON (CBS) -- MLB teams can start bidding on Japanese phenom Shohei Ohtani, and it should come as no surprise that the Red Sox are interested in his services.
The 23-year-old will offer any team that signs him (after forking over a $20 million posting fee to the Nippon Ham Fighters) a unique two-way star who can contribute on the mound and at the plate.
In a text to The Boston Herald's Michael Silverman, Red Sox president of baseball ops. Dave Dombrowski confirmed that Boston is indeed interested in Ohtani's services.
"Would acknowledge our interest," Dombrowski wrote. "Beyond that, all would be confidential."
Just about every MLB team will be interested in signing Ohtani. As a lefty hitter, he slashed .332/.403/.540 in 65 games last season, and on the mound, he went 42-15 with a 2.52 ERA with 624 strikeouts in 543 innings over his five-year career.
The 2016 season was his best at the plate and on the mound, hitting a career-high 22 homers while driving in 67 runs in 104 games while going 10-4 with a 1.86 ERA in 21 games (20 starts) on the hill.
Teams have until midnight, December 22 to sign Ohtani.
