Last December there were false reports that Shohei Ohtani was flying to Toronto to sign with the Blue Jays. Fans were tracking a specific flight they thought he was on. It was not to be for Jays and general manager Ross Atkins:
“We were obviously very disappointed with the outcome, and it was a very difficult phone call to receive, one of the more difficult ones in my career.”
The Bombardier Global 5000 private jet was not carrying the Japanese superstar but Canadian businessman Robert Herjavec, star of the hit TV shows Dragons’ Den and Shark Tank.
“I’d like to thank the @bluejays organization for signing me today!” Herjavec joked on Instagram.
Five days later Ohtani signed with the Dodgers. Worse still for Jays fans, Ohtani would team up with former Toronto outfielder Teoscar Hernandez for the Dodgers eighth world series championship.
The best the Blue Jays could do in free agency was infielder Justin Turner who was off to Seattle before the season’s conclusion. The Jays finished up with just 74 victories after seasons of 91, 92 and 89 from 2021 on.
Blue Jays all in on Juan Soto
No doubt the Jays have money. While the franchise is valued at $2.1 billion by Forbes, They are owned by Rogers Communication, worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 billion. They also own their own tv rights across Canada.
The rumours of Toronto’s mega interest in the Yankee free agent started early. They were the first to meet with him. There’s no secret that he’s really good friends with Jays superstar Vladimir Guerrero Junior, they’ve been playing video games together.
Soto will get his money, so it’ll take more than that. You’ll have to prove you can win. Ohtani certainly knew that of the Dodgers before he signed there.
Blue Jays at a crossroads
The Blue Jays however have much to do inside their own house in trying to prove that they can do that. It starts with Guerrero who’s entering his final year before free agency. Same goes for Guerrero’s other good buddy Bo Bichette.
Soto met for three hours on Thursday with the Boston Red Sox and reports are that he was impressed with what they had to say but really what else would you expect. Other visits are scheduled in the coming days.
Certainly the two teams that were in this year’s world series, The Yankees and Dodgers will have no problem coming up with the scratch or proof that they can field a contending team should either turn out to be his destination
Attendance dropped by about 340,000 at Jays games this season and tv ratings took a hit as the team’s fortunes lagged. Fans have been calling for a change in the front office for some time now.
Word is if it’s not Soto, it won’t be any other big time free agent. Same as last year according to Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson Smith:
“Shohei Ohtani was considered a special circumstance. The money was there for Ohtani, but wasn’t available to redistribute elsewhere. One year later, the same thinking applies to Soto”
No telling how raising expectations and coming away empty again with Soto as Ohtani will play out with Blue Jays fans. Not to mention how this will factor into the re-signing of their current star Guerreo Jr. and thus the team’s immediate future.
