Shohei Ohtani talk is as real as Jays pursuit of Japanese mega star

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NASHVILLE — The list of why these baseball Winter Meetings are significant (and perhaps even critical) for Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins is as long as it is varied.

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But one thing’s for certain: The much-maligned front office arguably is facing its most pressure in years to have a big-impact off-season, which in part explains their aggressive pursuits. Time is ticking on a not-so-young-anymore core, patience is running thin with a big-spending fan base and a frustrating end to the 2023 season left a bad taste in player’s mouths as well.

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With all this in mind, the intrigue of the Jays pursuit of mega-star Shohei Ohtani is as captivating as it is fascinating. Whether they land the dual threat — and pay what will assuredly be the largest contract in MLB history — the Jays seemly are in the mix with the final handful of teams.

There’s no guarantee the Ohtani deal will be done before the meetings wrap up at the Opryland Convention Center, but the chase for him is the talk of the town. You can’t walk far in the hallways without hearing the chatter and there certainly is an element of enchantment to the Jays involvement.

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As for the Jays, the fact that they aggressively are on the Ohtani trail — and in talks for a mega deal to land San Diego Padres slugger Juan Soto — it speaks to the pressing need to have an impact off-season.

Is the Ohtani talk just noise? We don’t believe so and here are five thoughts on the Jays fascinating pursuit, the details of which the club is keeping top secret for now.

1. Whether out of desperation or recognition of the dire need to improve in a big way immediately, the Jays are shopping in a stratosphere they have yet to visit under the Atkins regime. Win or lose on Ohtani or Soto, the buzz is real, a recognition around baseball the Jays have money to spend and are trying to do so. At the same time, it’s clear recognition from Atkins in company that token improvements to the team’s lagging offence won’t be enough.
2.  The urgency is based on a number of factors, many of them traced directly back to the 2023 season. Whether it was the regular-season disappointment — never truly challenging for the division title in large part due to a meek offence — or the playoff debacle, there was a bad taste around the team after the crushing early end in a wild-card round sweep.
3. There is a need to feed the fans as well. Sure, they came in droves in 2023 as Rogers Centre attendance topped three million on the season. But there are expensive renovations to pay for and with ticket prices on the rise, any downturn in performance could be costly.
4. Here at the sprawling Opryland resort, Jays chatter is real and pervasive, buzz that reflects the activity of Atkins and team president, Mark Shapiro. There is recognition that the competitive window is indeed an issue and that after convincing Rogers CEO Edward Rogers to spend more than $100 million on the team’s spring training home in Dunedin, $300 million on the Rogers Centre and a 2023 payroll that was the highest in club history, results now must follow.
5. How could the Jays land Ohtani? It won’t be easy, obviously, especially if the superstar decides he wants to remain in California and load up on Los Angeles Dodgers cash. But the Jays are good pitch men, if nothing else, and besides the money will build a sparkly case for the wonders of Toronto, the appeal of an entire nation and the opportunity for Ohtani to do his thing on a competitive team.

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