Shapiro sheds light on pursuit of Ohtani
Jays boss says there were moments he felt it might happen
Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro is sitting at the same table in the same second floor boardroom at the team’s player development complex here that he met with superstar Shohei Ohtani in December.
And while not exactly lamenting the one who got away, for the first time since Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, someone from the organization was frank and candid about the failed pursuit.
What is starkly clear from Shapiro’s telling is that the Jays believe their big-game hunting — complete with cloak and dagger drama the day before its conclusion — had them in the mix for one of the biggest stars in all of sports.
“As far as the excitement goes, there were moments, particularly when he was here in this facility, that you started to (believe that) ‘Well, this kind of feels like it could really happen,’ ” Shapiro said at his annual spring training meeting with the Jays beat media. “Up until the last night ... I never said this guy’s coming. I just don’t do that. It’s not my nature. A deal is not done until the deal is done.”
Ah yes, the morning after that bizarre December day with crazy rumours running wild and private jets from California being tracked in the far-fetched hope that Ohtani was coming to the city to announce his baseball future.
Strip away the sensationalism, though, and from the Jays perspective, their optimism was fuelled by the intricate and enthusiastic thoughts Ohtani shared on Toronto and Canada.
“It was cool on a couple levels,” Shapiro said. “It was exciting to see how engaged he was about the city and how clear his understanding was about the meaning of playing for a country. It wasn’t just the anecdotal ‘You guys represent a country.’ It was like this guy had walked around Toronto. He knew neighbourhoods, he had spent time, he was thoughtful. He appreciated what was unique about Toronto, the same things that we all feel are unique.
“He appreciated the diversity, the international nature, the progressiveness. He appreciated the safety, some of the differentiation from big American cities. He was specifically recognizing those things.
“So from a point of pride from someone else that chose to come there nine years ago and what it has meant to me, it was cool to see a player like him recognize that and genuinely place us at the front of the process.”
Skeptics aside, the fact that Ohtani was so engaged clearly resonated with the Jays president and CEO.
In fact, Shapiro became animated in debunking what he believes is a myth that high-end that players don’t want to take their career north of the border. Never mind that once Ohtani remained in California, no notable top-shelf free agents from the 2024 class made it this way.
“It’s great to go from that narrative that free agents won’t sign,” Shapiro said. “To bring (George) Springer, (Kevin) Gausman, (Chris) Bassitt and then (the pursuit of) Ohtani ... I mean, nine years ago I was told free agents wouldn’t sign here and you have to pay a premium.
“It’s clearly not the case. We’re having a conversation with the most pre-eminent free agent in the history of modern baseball and we are among the few teams he’s considering.”
All that consolation prize mindset of being in the hunt is well and good, the failed Ohtani pursuit still had plenty of layers, not all of them positive. The fact that the Jays were, according to sources, willing to go close to US$700 million was money available for one specific player only.
Shapiro explained that getting the green light on an all-in approach to Ohtani required extensive conversations with the Rogers board and ownership. Further to the outlier aspect of Ohtani, Shapiro said “off-seasons are not won by sensationalism,” which is why the team did a complete reset after Dec. 11.
“It’s pretty easy,” Shapiro said when asked to explain the question dogging many Jays fans. “Ohtani is a very unique case who generates extreme levels of performance, like number of wins, beyond any other player. It’s not a simple process.
“We’ve got a strong core in place so we doubled down in the belief of our players. That’s the bottom line.”
Whether rational or a rationalization, here we are. Shapiro believes there are a number of Jays players whom the team is internally expecting to have a much better season than in 2023, with Springer and Alejandro Kirk high on that list.
“Last year was an outlier and also bad luck,” Shapiro said. “It’s a belief in these players and also a belief that there are some core guys who are going to have much better years this year.”
After a post-season that fizzled, an off-season that teased and a regular season now less than a week away, we’re about to find out.