Toronto Blue Jays fans across Canada suffered the ultimate disappointment last week when MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani signed with the LA Dodgers shortly after reports of him coming to Canada surfaced.
And some suspect that funny business was involved.
After a flight from Anaheim to Toronto, which many believed Ohtani was on, turned out to be carrying Canadian billionaire Robert Herjavec and his family instead, Jays fans were bummed, to say the least.
Their sentiments grew more sour when it was revealed that Ohtani would be staying in California for good despite the Jays reportedly being willing to give him a record-breaking deal.
In fact, according to Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, the money from Toronto wasn’t too far off from the $700 million figure offered by the Dodgers.
However, many fans and analysts have reason to believe that the 29-year-old never really intended to sign with the Jays, and instead used them as a pawn in his negotiation game as a way to maximize LA’s offer.
Giving light to the hypothesis, a December 9 X post from the Score’s Brandon Wile outlines a theory that someone from Ohtani’s camp leaked that he was signing with the Blue Jays, and plnated a tip that he traveling to Toronto.
“After those leaks, [the] Dodgers thought they might lose him and came in with a final offer,” Wile wrote, citing reporter Tom Verducci.
So putting all the Ohtani pieces together it looks like …
– Ohtani hoped to land with the Dodgers (it was reported early he knew where he wanted to go), gave them chance for final offer
– Agent likely initially wasn't getting the $$ he wanted
– Someone (Ohtani's camp?)… pic.twitter.com/RvJYdocKWk— Brandon Wile (@Brandon_N_Wile) December 10, 2023
Then, over the weekend, another X user by the name of @1MLBinsider pointed out that Ohtani is represented by CCA, the same agency Herjavec is under.
CAA
The user also pointed out that the “original account” (@Gzipman) that posted about the flight rumoured to be carrying Ohtani has since been deleted without explanation.
NEW: Robert Herjavec (The Billionaire whose jet the world was tracking) is also represented by CAA, the same agency that just got $700M for Ohtani.
And the original account that posted about that flight has since deleted his account.
Coincidence? 🤔
— MLB Insider (@1MLBinsider) December 10, 2023
Adding to the bizarre nature of the situation, up-to-date information on Herjavec’s plane that was previously being tracked via Flightaware.com is no longer available “per request from the owner.”
Whether all these things are connected or simply coincidence is certainly up for debate. But with the way things played out, Ohtani probably won’t be in for much of a warm welcome the next time he steps up to the plate at Rogers Centre.