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Red Sox were favorites to sign Ohtani out of high school, ex-scouts say

Jamie Squire / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Shohei Ohtani didn't even grant the Boston Red Sox a meeting this winter. He met with only seven teams, mostly West Coast clubs, before deciding in early December to sign with the Los Angeles Angels.

Back in 2012, though, as he debated whether to go pro in his native Japan or try to make it in the big leagues, Ohtani nearly ended up signing with the Red Sox, who felt confident about their chances of landing the teenage phenom after sitting down with him at Hanamaki Higashi High School more than five years ago.

"After that meeting, we thought we had a good chance to sign him," Eddie Romero, a former Red Sox scout who took over as assistant general manager in 2016, told WEEI's Rob Bradford.

According to Jon Deeble, the club's former chief Pacific Rim scout (and current Los Angeles Dodgers employee), the Red Sox were "absolutely" a favorite to sign Ohtani out of high school. For two years, the Red Sox pursued him, Deeble said, adding that then-general manager Ben Cherington told them as Ohtani approached the end of his senior year to make him their top priority.

"I think from what I understand it would've come down to the Red Sox and the Dodgers," Deeble said. "At that point the Dodgers had a very good relationship with him also through someone who was working for them at the time. The Red Sox were definitely one or two to be able to get him, for sure."

Related - The Ohtani Day that never was: Royals dish on Postponement Heard 'Round the World

After much deliberation, though, Ohtani decided to stay in Japan to begin his professional career, convinced to stay local by the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, who selected him first overall in the 2012 Nippon Professional Baseball draft.

"I thought we had put our best foot forward," Romero said. "We knew there weren't too many teams that had gotten a chance to meet with him. I thought we had as good a chance as any. There were a couple of teams that had done the legwork to be in position to sign him and I thought we were one of those clubs.

Ohtani, who owns a 2.08 ERA through his first two starts with the Angels (to go along with a 1.191 OPS in 33 plate appearance), will take the mound Tuesday at Angel Stadium to kick off a three-game set against the Red Sox.

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