Shohei Ohtani decision is down to Blue Jays and Dodgers, according to Montreal radio host
By Cam Lewis
6 months agoToronto or Los Angeles?
That’s the question Shohei Ohtani is weighing right now, according to Gabriel Morency. No, the Montreal sports radio host, not the catcher the Blue Jays traded to the Diamondbacks.
The expectation is that baseball’s biggest free agent will sign with a team during or shortly after Major League Baseball’s annual Winter Meetings, which start on Sunday and run through the first few days of next week. It’s not known yet who Ohtani has met with, though the Blue Jays, L.A. Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, and San Francisco Giants are the teams who most often appear in rumours about who’s making a push to sign the two-time Most Valuable Player.
While general manager Ross Atkins didn’t outwardly confirm that the Blue Jays are pursuing Ohtani this winter, he alluded in vague corporate speak on Wednesday that the resources are available to do so. Atkins also spoke about the advantages the Blue Jays have in the Ohtani sweepstakes as though he was making a pitch.
“We have an incredible opportunity here. The city, the country, the support of ownership, the winning environment, the renovations that have occurred, the buy-in on so many levels for us to continue to build upon something that is very strong. That has been very attractive over the last several years. And we expect it to be. On the creative front, I would say similar things. We have incredible opportunities with the economy and the diversity and the strength of this city that is celebrated by a country. That is something that we lean into and always think creatively about making others aware of.”
Also adding some interesting fuel to the fire on Thursday was SNY’s Andy Martino, who mentioned Ohtani through the context of the New York Mets and Yankees pursuing Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
“A Yamamoto doomsday scenario for New York baseball exists in which Shohei Ohtani chooses a team other than the Dodgers — semi-informed gossip about that scenario is rampant this week in baseball circles — leaving Los Angeles with hundreds of millions of dollars to lavish on Yamamoto.Speaking of Ohtani: if there were any indication within the industry that he would come to New York, the Mets would obviously pursue him aggressively. But so far, there does not seem to be any indication.”
Given Ohtani’s incredibly private nature, it’s difficult to say if any accurate information will leak about which teams he’s considering. The Dodgers seem like the realistic favourite, given their budget, success, and location, but the Blue Jays have a strong case and the financial power as well. It’s reasonable to assume they’re among the top options Ohtani would be considering.
ARTICLE PRESENTED BY BETANO
Recent articles from Cam Lewis
