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The Toronto Blue Jays reportedly made a very competitive offer to the 10-year, $700 million offer that ultimately drew Shohei Ohtani to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
As rumors ramped up over where Ohtani would land in free agency, the Blue Jays were one of the teams very much in the mix. Per Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, the Blue Jays had a lofty deal prepared for Ohtani.
“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,” Nicholson-Smith wrote. “One source with knowledge of the talks said the Blue Jays were ‘right there’ with an offer described as very competitive.”
It’s not clear exactly what the Blue Jays offered, but Nicholson-Smith suggested that the deal was likely above the $600 million mark.
Ohtani ultimately went with the Dodgers’ offer and will suit up down the road form his former team, the Los Angeles Angels, next season.
Ohtani’s deal with the Dodgers is the largest contract by total value in North American pro sports history. His $700 million surpassed Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ 10-year, $503-million contract.
It was clear that there would be a bidding war for Ohtani after the way the two-time MVP has performed over the past three seasons, and ultimately the Dodgers had the best offer.
Ohtani not only will receive a hefty payday, but also the chance to play for a team that is in a good position to win — which is something the sixth-year player didn’t have with the Angels, who didn’t make the postseason one time in Ohtani’s tenure.
Ohtani’s love for winning became evident to the baseball world during the World Baseball Classic in March when he led Japan to a win over the United States. Now, he will play for a team that clearly has the same goals as him.
The Dodgers had the best record in baseball in 2022 as well as the third-best record this past season, but they failed to make it past the NL Divisional Series in both years.
Now Los Angeles has the best player in baseball after beating out Toronto, and the Dodgers are looking to get back to the World Series.
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