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The Toronto Blue Jays lost out on one of baseball’s superstars Saturday, when Shohei Ohtani signed the sport’s biggest contract ever with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Dodgers announced they had signed the prized free agent to a 10-year, $700-million contract.
It’s the largest contract in MLB history, surpassing the 12-year, $426.5-million extension that Mike Trout signed with the Los Angeles Angels in 2019.
Pitchers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander had the highest annual salaries in baseball last season, at $43.3 million.
Toronto was thought to be a finalist in the Shohei Sweepstakes. On Friday, social media was abuzz with posts that Ohtani was on his way to Toronto to sign with the Blue Jays.
People even tracked a private aircraft flying from Los Angeles to Toronto, assuming Ohtani was on board. Instead, the plane carried Dragons’ Den and Shark Tank star Robert Herjavec.
Ohtani, a 29-year-old product of Oshu, Japan, joins the Dodgers after a stellar six-year career as both a pitcher and designated hitter with the Angels. He’s a two-time American League MVP, winning in 2021 and 2023.
The right-hander has a 38-19 record with a 3.01 earned-run average and 608 strikeouts in 86 career starts in the majors. But his pitching career is on hold as he deals with elbow issues; he had surgery in September after being diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
At the plate, the 6-foot-4, 210-pound slugger has hit 171 home runs and driven in 437 runs over 716 regular-season games. He has a .274 average and a .922 OPS in his career, and has stolen 86 bases.
In 135 games last season, he hit .304 with 44 homers and 95 RBI, and had career highs in on-base percentage (.412), slugging percentage (.654) and OPS (1.066). On the mound, he went 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA and 167 strikeouts in 23 starts.
The Angels never made the playoffs during Ohtani’s time with them.
The Jays’ pursuit of Ohtani would have been the biggest deal in franchise history, both in terms of finances and profile.
Toronto made deals with established major-leaguers when it brought in outfielder George Springer in 2021, pitcher Roger Clemens in 1996, designated hitter Paul Molitor in 1992 and designated hitter Dave Winfield in 1991 – but none had the global reach of Ohtani.
Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Shohei Ohtani rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run as Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. looks on during first-inning American League MLB baseball action in Toronto on July 28, 2023. (THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO/Nathan Denette)