The Toronto Blue Jays certainly didn’t go down without a fight in the Shohei Ohtani free agent sweepstakes.
On Saturday, Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to a record-setting 10-year deal worth $700 million — the richest contract in the history of professional sports. Ohtani’s pact easily surpasses Mike Trout’s $426.5 million extension that stood as the richest MLB contract in history for four years.
According to a report from Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet, the Blue Jays’ offer to Ohtani was similar to what the Dodgers wound up paying him:
“As for how close the Blue Jays came to landing Ohtani, that’s a question only the two-time MVP himself can really answer, but sources familiar with the negotiation say the Blue Jays’ best offer was in the same financial ballpark as the Dodgers. One source with knowledge of the talks said the Blue Jays were “right there” with an offer described as very competitive.
The specifics of the final number aren’t known, but to be “right there” with a $700-million offer certainly suggests a final bid well above $600 million from ownership at Rogers Communications Inc., which also owns Sportsnet. When reached via text message this weekend, both Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins and a spokesperson for CAA — which represents Ohtani — declined to comment.”
The richest contract in Blue Jays history belongs to outfielder George Springer, who signed a six-year deal worth $150 million in Jan. 2021.
Losing out on Ohtani hurts for Toronto, no doubt. But the fact that ownership was willing to pay Ohtani well over half a billion dollars should be encouraging for fans. Clearly, the higher-ups are willing to spend whatever it takes to build a long-term winner.
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The other silver lining for Toronto: Plenty of impactful free agent hitters remain available, including former NL MVP Cody Bellinger, star third baseman Matt Chapman (spent the last two years with Toronto), veteran slugger J.D. Martinez and old friends Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Teoscar Hernández.
