According to MLB insider Jon Morosi, Shohei Ohtani is nearing a decision on where he'll sign this offseason. The two-way phenom has already established himself as one of the best baseball players of all-time and is certainly one of the best to ever become a free agent.
The list of teams "in" on Ohtani's services has fluctuated as the offseason has marched on. The Dodgers have long been the team predicted by most to pony up and land the superstar. As always, they pursue the top free agents and flash their checkbooks at anyone they really want. That's a sound business plan, but they are far from the only club chasing after Ohtani.
Another MLB insider, Mike Rodriguez, points out that the Cubs, Angels, Mariners, Giants and - you guessed it - the Blue Jays are "still in the fight".
Throughout this entire process, the Blue Jays have been aggressive in their pursuit of Ohtani. From the get-go, Ohtani and his representatives let teams know that if anyone leaks their private meetings to the media, it will be held against them. As a result, things have been mostly quiet regarding said meetings. Outside from the occasional fake X account that says they have sources telling them things, things have been hush-hush.
A few days ago, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts spoke openly about the club's pursuit of Ohtani, while it was also confirmed that Ohtani visited the Blue Jays' player development complex in Dunedin, Florida. At this point, it largely feels like it's the Dodgers vs. Jays in the finals.
Bringing Ohtani to Toronto would be a true franchise-altering move. The 29-year-old appeared in 135 games as a hitter, knocking an AL-leading 44 home runs out of the park with 95 driven in and an MLB-leading 184 OPS+. He easily won his second AL MVP Award and took home his second Silver Slugger at the designated hitter position. On the mound, he was 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA and over 11 strikeouts per nine innings. Regardless of where he signs, he won't be making many (if any at all) starts next season as he recovers from a major surgery. However, Ohtani the hitter seems ready to go.
With his decision coming any minute now, Blue Jays fans can officially start holding their collective breaths. This is becoming real, folks, strap in!