Pedro Martinez believes Shohei Ohtani is going to sign with Red Sox

BOSTON -- Shortly after a World Series champ is crowned, the baseball world will turn its attention to the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes. Teams are going to be lining up to sign the multitalented superstar when he hits free agency this winter, eager to dish out truckloads of loot to secure his talents for the future.

Where Ohtani signs, nobody knows. But Pedro Martinez believes that Ohtani will sign with one of baseball's historic franchises, and you can probably guess which one he's going with. 

"I think he's going to be playing in Boston," the former Red Sox great and current special assistant in Boston told Sports Illustrated. "I would love to have him."

Pedro also said that the L.A. Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and New York Mets have the money and the motivation to sign one of baseball's most unique stars, which will create quite the bonanza surrounding Ohtani's free agency.

"It's going to be a few teams that can afford him. Those are the few places I can think of for Ohtani to land, but I have to say Boston is No. 1," said Martinez.

The Red Sox have been rumored to be in on Ohtani, though others have pointed out that ownership may not want to make such a massive investment, adding that Masataka Yoshida is the team's DH-in-waiting. And while Ohtani would be able to fill Boston's biggest need in the starting rotation eventually, that won't happen next season. Ohtani is recovering from elbow surgery for a torn ulnar collateral ligament that he suffered in August, and won't pitch again until 2025.

But really, that won't stop anyone from signing Ohtani, who led the AL with 44 homers in 2023. The Red Sox would just need to find someone to run their baseball ops. department to hand out that massive contract to Ohtani. 

Whether this is an informed opinion or just pure speculation by Martinez, it will be music to the ears of Red Sox fans. But then again, just about everything Pedro Martinez has to say sounds great in the ears of Boston fans.