The Boston Red Sox never were in the running to sign Shohei Ohtani last offseason. After a bizarre recruitment saga, the 23-year-old eventually signed with the Los Angeles Angels.
However, the Japanese pitching-hitting phenom nearly joined the Red Sox organization in 2012, according to a piece published Monday by WEEI’s Rob Bradford.
Ohtani, then a high-school sensation, was one of the hottest names on the international market. And a pair of Red Sox scouts — Jon Deeble and Eddie Romero — were hot on his trail.
“After (meeting with Ohtani), we thought we had a good chance to sign him,” Romero recently told Bradford.
When ask…