The Blue Jays widely have been seen as the runner-up in the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes that landed him with the Dodgers, and an offseason that was “already the most critical” of GM Ross Atkins’ tenure with the team “turns to desperation,” according to Rob Longley of the TORONTO SUN. The team is left trying to “appease a loyal and supportive fan base that has in some corners reverted back to seething mode after having the loss of Ohtani piled onto the debacle of a playoff exit,” while at the same time trying to field a “competitive team to entice those same fans eager enough to fill more expensive seats in a renovated stadium.” Whatever plan Atkins comes up with in a bid to “save face (and his roster) will pale in comparison with the dream of Ohtani and the wild ride the pursuit took fans on.” The fallout is “already dramatic, an emotional downer for all involved, and hardly the situation Atkins needed to find himself in.” Complicating things is that Atkins and Blue Jays President Mark Shapiro “don’t just have a roster to bolster but a restless fan base that has reverted back to being disappointed and angry” (TORONTO SUN, 12/10).
NO ONE REPLACEMENT FOR A UNICORN: In Toronto, Gregor Chisholm notes that there “isn't one addition that will help Jays fans get over the hangover of striking out” on Ohtani. The “only way the Jays can earn back support is by winning a lot of games.” Meanwhile, the amount of cash available to upgrade the roster “remains unknown.” It could be assumed that payroll “isn't an issue for a team that took a run at baseball's biggest star, but Ohtani was a special case.” Chisholm: “Just because Rogers Communications was willing to blow past their expected budget for [Ohtani] doesn't mean it would be willing to do so for anyone else” (TORONTO STAR, 12/11). Also in Toronto, Bruce Arthur wrote Ohtani would have “changed the face of Toronto Blue Jays baseball forever.” The club now will “pivot to something else, but nothing will have the bottom-line business case of bringing Japan and baseball’s biggest star to Toronto” (TORONTO STAR, 12/9).
HYPE MACHINE RAN WILD: Chisholm in separate piece a noted nobody should fault the Blue Jays for trying to sign Ohtani, but while fans “got caught up in the hype surrounding a potential franchise-altering acquisition, so too did Toronto executives.” Atkins alluded to the possibility of signing Ohtani last month, and “more false hope arrived on Day 1 of the winter meetings when Atkins held his regular media availability over Zoom, instead of in person.” When fans found out he was in Florida with Ohtani’s camp, expectations “soared even higher.” The Blue Jays could turn attention to free agents Cody Bellinger, Matt Chapman or Jorge Soler, but even signing all three “would do little to excite the casuals whose money is required just as much as the diehards.” Chisholm: “They won't be interested in those three after being promised Ohtani” (TORONTO STAR, 12/9). The GLOBE & MAIL’s Cathal Kelly noted the Blue Jays on Friday afternoon “were on the precipice of taking the city and the country on a great leap forward into the sports future,” as Ohtani would “turn Toronto and the Jays into an international brand.” The reality is that they now look “like third- or fourth-best in the American League East.” Kelly: “They aren’t a terrible team, but the guys who remain look dull as dishwater when stood up next to the Ohtani of our imagination” (GLOBE & MAIL, 12/10).
CREDIT FOR BEING IN THE MIX: In Toronto, Steve Simmons noted MLB fans “don’t celebrate second or third place,” but Blue Jays execs “should be congratulated for at least being in the game.” Simmons: “They didn’t mail this in. This wasn’t a plan to get people talking. They went hard at Ohtani” (TORONTO SUN, 12/10). SPORTSNET.ca’s Ben Nicholson-Smith noted the Blue Jays “aspire to greater heights than small-market teams like the Pirates and Brewers.” This was the Blue Jays’ chance “to join the Dodgers and Yankees as a serious, big market threat” (SPORTSNET.ca, 12/9).
