Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins expressed regret Shoehei Ohtani turned down Toronto after meeting with the team and chose to sign a record 10-year, $700 million US contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Atkins for the first time confirmed Ohtani visited Toronto’s spring training facility in Dunedin, Fla., but wouldn’t say whether the meeting occurred on Dec. 4, when Atkins spoke reporters at the winter meetings via Zoom rather than in person in Nashville. Ohtani announced his agreement with the Dodgers five days later.
“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,” Atkins told reporters Wednesday.
“At the same time, [it was an] incredible process and group effort and collaboration that I feel so good about, not only that process but what it meant to be in that position for the organization, for the city, for the country. There’s no doubt in my mind he was exceptionally attracted to this country, this city, this team. We felt incredible about the process, but we moved on.”
WATCH | Dodgers’ Ohtani says winning was priority in choosing new team:
The Los Angeles Dodgers introduced Shohei Ohtani at a press conference Thursday after signing the two-way superstar to a historic 10-year, $700M US contract. ‘I’m not sure how long I’m going to be able to play the game. So I did prioritize winning,’ the 29-year-old Ohtani said about deciding to join the Dodgers.
Ohtani also met with the San Francisco Giants, who said they made an offer comparable to the one he agreed to with the Dodgers.
Atkins didn’t think the Blue Jays were used to extract a better offer from a competing bidder.
“Absolutely not,” he said. “I feel strongly otherwise. We feel really good about the process. It was an incredible effort from ownership to business to baseball, people coming together. Not the outcome we wanted, but feel really good about the process and absolutely felt like it was authentic and real.”
Since missing out on Ohtani, the Blue Jays have brought back Gold Glove outfielder Kevin Kiermaier on a one-year deal worth $10.5 million, and added utilityman Isiah Kiner-Falefa with a two-year, $15 million contract. Atkins said outfielder and designated hitters are the positions he was most likely to add before spring training.
“We have a very good team in place that we are exceptionally excited about,” Atkins said. “We could be open to a trade. We are not actively looking to trade away from our major league team.”
Toronto was 89-73 last season and earned an American League wild card berth for its third playoff appearance in four seasons but was swept for the third straight time, scoring one run in two losses at Minnesota.
WATCH | Moment-by-moment breakdown of Ohtani confusion in Toronto:
Blue Jays fans had their dreams dashed after learning free agent Shohei Ohtani signed a historic $700-million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Andrew Chang gives a moment-by-moment breakdown of the mad speculation and confusion that led up to Toronto’s disappointment, and how a judge on Shark Tank and Dragons’ Den found himself in the middle of it all.