What MLB insiders are saying on Blue Jays' chances of landing Ohtani
There’s an old dad joke that could probably be applied to the chances of the Toronto Blue Jays landing Shohei Ohtani in free agency.
“It’s 50%,” the joke goes. “Either he signs or he doesn’t.”
Of course, that’s not quite applicable to the reality of the situation of Toronto trying to land the MLB’s most-coveted prize, the two-time AL MVP winner set to earn potentially the largest contract in North American professional sports history.
Ohtani reportedly met with the team’s front office at their spring training complex in Dunedin, Florida, earlier this week, a sign that there’s at least some interest going both ways. Both Jays general manager Ross Atkins and John Schneider dodged answering questions about the meeting in media availabilities at the MLB Winter Meetings, only adding to the secrecy of the whole process.
But there have been a series of percentages thrown around about the likelihood of Toronto landing the 29-year-old two-way megastar, and more than a few sources are giving the Blue Jays favourable odds over other contenders such as the Los Angeles Dodgers.
On TSN 1050 yesterday, former New York Mets GM and current baseball analyst Steve Phillips gave Toronto a “greater than 50 percent” chance of signing Ohtani this offseason.
"I would personally think the Blue Jays are the favourites to land him right now – I would give them a greater than 50 per cent chance of landing him"
This morning on #FirstUp, @StevePhillipsGM told us why the #BlueJays should be considered the favourites to land Ohtani! đź‘€ pic.twitter.com/PFAn5maNse
— First Up (@FirstUp1050) December 6, 2023
Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith reported Tuesday night that “one rival executive with knowledge of talks now sees the Blue Jays are leaders. For others, the Dodgers remain the prohibitive favourites.”
Meanwhile, a Wednesday night segment on MLB Network from Greg Amsinger showed the Jays having a 60% chance of winning the Ohtani sweepstakes, in comparison to 30% from the Dodgers and less than 3% for any other team.
Shohei Ohtani's landing spot pie chart according to… Greg. đź“Š@JonHeyman | @Feinsand | @StevePhillipsGM pic.twitter.com/aESNmK3AcO
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) December 7, 2023
At this rate, it really is anyone’s best guess where Ohtani signs for next season. But you can bet there will be a sense of anxiety pulsing throughout the veins of baseball fans everywhere until they get an answer of where exactly the sport’s most electrifying talent will be playing come next season.