Whereas the primary main domino of the 2023 MLB offseason fell earlier this week, with Juan Soto being traded to the New York Yankees, the most important domino has but to fall. WIth famous person Shohei Ohtani but to decide concerning his future, digital sleuths have been exhausting at work attempting to crack the case.
They usually believed a serious breakthrough in that effort got here on Friday.
Let’s begin right here. Momentum has been constructing all through the week main into Friday that the Toronto Blue Jays have been definitely within the operating for the slugger’s providers. That reached a boiling level when Jon Morosi of the MLB Community reported early on Friday morning that an Ohtani determination could possibly be “imminent:”
And rapidly adopted with this:
The Blue Jays are one finalist for Shohei Ohtani as his determination approaches, as I reported on @MLBNetwork moments in the past.@MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 8, 2023
That’s when digital sleuths started working. And afterward Friday morning, phrase labored its method by social media {that a} flight plan had been filed for a personal jet taking off from John Wayne Airport within the Los Angeles space, with Toronto because the vacation spot:
Who is aware of if that is something associated to Shohei Ohtani however credit score “X” customers who’ve recognized a personal Jet scheduled this morning to fly from Anaheim to Toronto & even whether it is…is it a go to to Toronto since he went to Dunedin final Monday? Or is he going to signal? Who is aware of pic.twitter.com/sMgsUk4Yjs
— Jim Bowden⚾️ (@JimBowdenGM) December 8, 2023
The connection was instantly made to Ohtani. Might this be a go to? Or a visit to announce that he was signing with the Blue Jays?
The piece have been in place. A personal flight, a strong report, and all within the wake of assorted stories that the Blue Jays have been a minimum of one of many finalists within the Ohtani sweepstakes.
The stage was set for an unimaginable reveal.
Air site visitors controllers welcomed the airplane to Toronto, considerably tongue-in-cheek:
Here is the second Pearson Airport floor management cheekily introduced to the airplane that had simply landed “very heat welcome, to all people that will or is probably not on board, to Toronto, welcome in”
(h/t @baseballwooloo for locating the timestamp within the ATC archives) pic.twitter.com/9wNbn2U10m
— ℳatt (@matttomic) December 8, 2023
The hypothesis even had Drake posting this picture on Instagram, of him carrying an All-Star Ohtani jersey:
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One … slight downside.
Ohtani was not on the flight.
Fairly it was Canadian businessman Robert Herjavec and his household, additionally recognized for his activate “Shark Tank:”
Our CBC photographer Evan Mitsui is messaging me from Pearson Airport proper now.
He confirms new stories that Ohtani was NOT on the personal jet.
It was in actual fact carrying Canadian businessman Robert Herjavec and his household.
— Devin Heroux (@Devin_Heroux) December 8, 2023
Whereas Blue Jays followers have been left to lick their wounds, Herjavec had some enjoyable with the state of affairs:
Good job everybody, let’s strive once more subsequent week.