Former MLB GM Dan Duquette -- who was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2022 -- tells TMZ Sports if he were in the Dodgers' front office ... he would've had some reservations about signing Shohei Ohtani to a $700 million contract.
The ex-Boston exec explained that while he believes the two-way star is truly one of the most unique talents the MLB's ever seen ... the elbow surgery he recently underwent would make Duquette nervous.
"I was a little uncomfortable with the values given the injury," Duquette said.
Ohtani, of course, had the procedure back in September ... the second major one his throwing arm's undergone since 2018.
Both the player and the Dodgers don't seem too concerned about it -- they each expect him to take the mound again in 2025 ... but Duquette told us it's a risky situation he might not have wanted to be a part of if he were making decisions in LA.
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"This guy is a huge player," Duquette said, referencing Ohtani's 6-foot-4, 210-pound frame. "He hit a couple of home runs, he pitched a really good game, and then he got hurt."
"I don't know that the performance at the top-end of the scale for these great big guys is sustainable. Because there's so much power and force going into a pitch, going into a swing."
However, one thing Duquette was fine with was the structure of the deal -- which will reportedly pay Ohtani $20 million for the next 10 years ... before it gives him $680 mil from 2034-2043.
Duquette told us the deferrals will benefit everyone -- from the team, to the player, to the league as a whole.
"If you do it right," said Duquette, who famously signed Manny Ramirez to a Red Sox contract packed with deferrals before the 2001 season, "it's a win-win-win for everybody."