The Toronto Blue Jays had their hearts broken this weekend when Shohei Ohtani announced that he was going to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a record-setting 10-year and $700 million deal.
Toronto had to have felt good about its chances considering that Friday featured a report of Ohtani signing with the Blue Jays and a report of him flying to Toronto.
While we may not ever learn the Jays’ true emotion on the subject – or the level of their pursuits of Ohtani – we are starting to get some information on the matter.
Per Jays’ Insider Ben Nicholson-Smith in an article for SportsNet:
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….
If the Jays were willing to go above $600 million and near the $700 million that the Dodgers offered, you have to give them credit. Toronto, a team which was bowed out in the wild card round of the playoffs the last two years, certainly appears to be doing everything it can to improve the roster.
In this case though, it just wasn’t enough.
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