Dodgers News: Blue Jays Offer To Shohei Ohtani “Right There” Financially With LA

The big news this weekend was that two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani agreed to join the Dodgers on a record-setting 10-year deal that is worth $700 million. LA finally landed the big prize that they had been trying to reel in for years.

Right behind the Dodgers for his services were the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Angels. There may have been a few other teams in the bidding, but these were the main competitors, namely Toronto.

While we likely won’t ever know exactly how much was offered from the other parties involved, one MLB insider is reporting that the Blue Jays offer to Ohtani was “right there” financially with what he agreed to with the Dodgers. Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reported the news.

“Sources familiar with the negotiation say the Blue Jays’ best offer was in the same financial ballpark as the Dodgers. One source with knowledge of the talks said the Blue Jays were “right there” with an offer described as very competitive.”

Per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet

This means that Ohtani decided that the Dodgers were the best fit for his future. The number from the Blue Jays likely will never be revealed, but Ohtani viewed LA in a more favorable light.

It was been thought that the Ohtani camp used the Blue Jays to drive up the price for the Dodgers to shell out, and if so, it’s just smart business by his agent. It’s also been known for a while that this may happen, as ESPN Insider Buster Olney reported a while back that sources told him that Ohtani has known where he has wanted to go for a long time and that his agent would just leverage that team into paying more.

Agents do this every single offseason to get their clients the most money possible, it’s the whole point of their job. But it is impressive that the Blue Jays were close to the Dodgers’ offer of $700 million, considering how much lower the biggest deal in Toronto history has been.

“An offer approaching $700 million would easily shatter the record for the biggest contract in franchise history, which currently belongs to George Springer, who has three years remaining on his six-year, $150-million deal.”

Per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet

In the end, it was always the Dodgers. The fit was seamless, and Ohtani has always felt destined to be a member of the Dodgers. Sho Time is now heading to Los Angeles, and the organization couldn’t be happier.

Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

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