Boston still has too many designated hitters… “
When the Major League Baseball 2023-2024 free agent market opens, how many teams will actually enter the race to recruit Shohei Ohtani (29)? Although the American media focuses on strong candidates, led by the Los Angeles Dodgers, the prevailing view is that most teams will actually contact the Ohtani Agency.메이저놀이터
Ohtani’s role as a designated hitter will be limited for the 2024 season. After undergoing elbow surgery, the prevailing view is that the resumption of dual swords will be in 2025. Also, if he plays as a hitter in the future anyway, it is expected that he will mainly play as a designated hitter. It is certain that the existing designated hitter of the club that recruited Ohtani will be hit by a stray bullet. Additionally, it is virtually impossible for the club that will recruit Ohtani to have a ‘designated hitter rotation’ in the future. The LA Angels did the same.
The Boston Red Sox is a recently mentioned team in the Otani recruitment campaign. Boston also has many hitters who can serve as designated hitter. As JD Martinez signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers ahead of this season, veteran Justin Turner played a lot as a designated hitter.
NBC Sports Boston pointed out on the 16th (hereinafter Korean time) that there are many hitters who will serve as designated hitter, including Masataka Yoshida, Rafael Devers, and Triston Casas. He said, “Adding Ohtani, who is the best player in the league and should be in the lineup almost every day, is a logjam (duplicate investment).”
In modern baseball, designated hitter rotation can be used to allocate individual stamina and improve lineup efficiency. NBC Sports Boston believes that there will be side effects if it fails to do so. In fact, the LA Dodgers, the protagonist of the ‘Dodgers trend theory’, believe that if they recruit Ohtani, they will not be able to catch designated hitter Martinez, who performed well this year, in the free agent market.
Even so, Bleacher Report believes that Boston needs to recruit Ohtani. Bleacher Report said, “Ohtani is a player Boston should sign. Even if he is not on the mound, he will be the team’s focal point on offense. “His power has always been a threat, but his batting average and on-base percentage are also career highs.”
In fact, Boston’s concerns will be sympathized with by clubs considering recruiting Ohtani. There are 9 batters that need to be in the lineup anyway, and if Ohtani is brought in, player rotation will be impossible at the cost of getting the major league’s best designated hitter.
Of course, even so, the recruitment battle is expected to be heated because Ohtani’s productivity is ‘unparalleled’. If dual swords are resumed in 2025, it will also have the effect of having an ace. There is also interest in how the clubs competing to recruit Ohtani plan to utilize him in the long term.