KANSAS CITY — When Shohei Ohtani arrives in Toronto this weekend, he’ll inspire a broad range of reactions, many of them pretty strong.
Blue Jays front office officials are typically a measured bunch, but if any player can inspire envy within the GM suite, it’s Ohtani, who entertained an offer approaching $700 million from the Blue Jays only to tell them they’d finished second.
As for the fans, this is a chance to voice any frustration they feel toward Ohtani, who visited the team’s spring training facility in Dunedin, Fla., in December before choosing Los Angeles.
And at field level, Blue Jays players and coaches are well aware of the off-season chase that ended with Ohtani on the Dodgers.
“Did he sign there?” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said, joking, earlier this week. “I thought we had him. If anything, tell him we want our Blue Jay hat back after our meeting. But, no, it’s just a good team coming in that we’re looking to play well against.”
Last summer, when Ohtani visited as a member of the Los Angeles Angels, he was greeted warmly by fans. This time, the response may well be different.
“Hopefully, they give it to him a little bit,” Schneider said. “But shoot, man, he’s a hell of a player. He’s a great player. You don’t like watching him from the other side of the dugout, but you have to appreciate how good he is. But, yeah, it’ll be interesting to see how the fans welcome him.”
Ultimately, fans have the right to cheer or boo Ohtani as they please. And realistically, there are likely to be a lot more boos than cheers.
Fair enough — but it’s also worth noting there’s no logical reason to boo him. Given the stakes of his decision, Ohtani owed it to himself to explore free agency to the fullest. Meeting with the Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fla., wasn’t a promise he’d sign with Toronto; it was simply a way to explore the fit.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime player,” said Blue Jays outfielder George Springer, once a coveted free agent himself. “Obviously, if he’s not on your team, you always want him.”
And while some would counter that Ohtani was using the Blue Jays to get a bigger offer out of the Dodgers, there are some flaws in that logic, too. Because even if Ohtani was intent on using the Blue Jays, he didn’t have to fly from Anaheim to Dunedin, Fla. — a simple leak would have sufficed. That trip reflects real curiosity in the team.
Plus, with respect to the Blue Jays, the Giants’ offer was also reported to be in the $700-million range. If Ohtani’s representatives at CAA needed a stalking horse to drive up the Dodgers’ bid, they didn’t need the Blue Jays at all. They had a ready-made threat in the same state and the same division. Why even mention the Blue Jays?
Conspiracy theories abound with Ohtani, but what if the explanation for his free agency is this simple: while making the biggest professional decision of his life, he liked the Blue Jays enough to seriously entertain their offer, yet the Dodgers were always the favourites and delivered an even more compelling pitch that won him over. Is that so bad?
“The process was a little bit more in-depth (than usual),” Schneider recalled. “But it was cool to go through, to be honest with you. I can’t speak for Shohei, but I think he was impressed with everything that we discussed.”
Plus, if there’s any player who can tune out noise, it’s Ohtani. Consider how much has been going on for him during the last six months: elbow surgery, an intense free agent recruiting process, a quiet wedding, a new team, an alleged multimillion-dollar betrayal by his interpreter and close friend and cooperation with an ongoing federal investigation.
His 2024 numbers despite that turbulence: .358/.419/.670 with six home runs, 14 doubles and five stolen bases. It’s production that suggests he’s uniquely capable of succeeding in the face of distractions — including any boos from the Rogers Centre crowd.
Springer, who’s been booed far more than most, says there’s a skill to tuning out hostile fans. Clearly, it’s one Ohtani possesses, too.
“End of the day, I have a job to do and I need to go do it,” Springer said. “That’s really kind of it. For me, it’s all about the guys in this locker room. I need to go play and be myself for them.”
Again, none of that means Blue Jays fans can’t boo Ohtani if they want. Fan reactions don’t have to be logical, and there’s something to be said for voicing displeasure once in a while. With this team, there are understandable reasons to be frustrated.
Just don’t be surprised if Ohtani tunes out the noise and hits a big home run or two. After all, as everyone involved in those secretive off-season recruiting meetings can tell you, he hits especially well in Toronto, with a lifetime 1.139 OPS and three home runs.
“He just lets his play speak for itself,” Springer said. “When it’s all said and done, I think he has a chance to be maybe the best player of all-time. He can do things on a field that only he can do. I don’t know what he does (being the scenes), but it seems like he just goes and plays, and that’s the end of it.”
