Despite rampant speculations that the most sought-after free agent in Major League Baseball could be coming to Toronto, Shohei Ohtani decided to stay in Los Angeles and sign with the Dodgers.
The signing has left many Blue Jays fans wondering if Toronto, which had been rumoured to be one of the teams in the running to sign Ohtani, was ever close to getting him.
DID THE BLUE JAYS HAVE A SHOT?
“That’s going to be the big question,” TSN 1050’s Matt Cauz said in an interview with CP24.
“We want to know now is why did they lose that. What is it about money? Seven hundred million for 10 years is a historic amount of money. So what’s it about that?”
Cauz added that another factor could be that the Dodgers have won the World Series more recently than the Blue Jays, who last captured the championship in 1993.
He said the Dodgers having a more “elite team” with players who have won MVP awards, which would take pressure off Ohtani, could have played in his decision.
“But, the real question is how far did the Blue Jays and (general manager Ross) Atkins, (team president Mark) Shapiro and (team owner) Rogers — how did they go to try to get Ohtani?”
On Friday, Ohtani watch kicked into high gear after several online reports that the Japanese player had chosen Toronto and was on a flight to the city. Thousands tracked the flight only to find out that Ohtani was never onboard.
It was revealed that Shark Tank and Dragons’ Den star Robert Herjavec was on the flight. He later posted on Instagram an edited picture of him wearing a Blue Jays uniform and jokingly wrote in the caption, “I’d like to thank the @bluejays organization for signing me today!”
Adam Peddle, co-host of the Blue Jays Today podcast, was not surprised by the news, saying the Dodgers were always going to be the favourites.
“The fact that the Blue Jays were even in on this conversation is just a blessing,” he said.
“But, after all this hype and after all the buildup and the anticipation whether Otani was actually going to come to the Toronto Blue Jays and shock the world – to have it all fall down and crash down the Earth, and we’re back to reality, it does sting a bit.”
While Ohtani is a significant loss, the team needs to refocus and acquire other available players to boost the lineup using the money they were prepared to offer, Peddle said.
“I think you still got to add that impact bat to your lineup. Maybe find some complementary pieces to fill the holes,” he added.
“You got to help the boys that are currently on the team, like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette. You got to help those bats, protect those bats in the lineup so that they can have success this year.”
WHAT’S NEXT FOR TORONTO?
Cauz said there is a massive dropoff in terms of talent with the remaining crop of free agents. He suggested that Toronto could go after centre-fielder Cody Bellinger, who played for the Chicago Cubs last season.
Cauz noted that as the Blue Jays sought Ohtani, their division rival New York Yankees acquired outfielder Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres.
“Within the American League East, the Yankees just got better, and now the Blue Jays lose out on Shohei Ohtani,” he said.
“Now it looks like there’s not going to be a significant upgrade to an offence that needs a significant upgrade.”
Cauz said Toronto was looking into filling their offensive gap this offseason as several of their players entered free agency, including Brandon Belt, Matt Chapman and Kevin Kiermaier.
“The Jays do have a good pitching staff. So that side is set but they were they were middle of the pack team, offensively,” he said.
“It’s trying to get Cody Bellinger, and it’s hoping that a lot of these bats can bounce back after a poor 2023.”
TSN baseball analyst Steve Phillips said the Blue Jays need to hit the ground running and make phone calls to players and teams they have put aside waiting for Ohtani’s decision.
“They’ve got to go to Plan C when it comes to a bat in the lineup,” Phillips said, noting that Plan B for Toronto was Soto.
“There’s no licking your wounds right now. Twenty-eight other teams aren’t waiting to see what you’re gonna do. You got to get in there and get yourself going. And so I look for them to be really proactive right now, trying to fill their needs.”
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings signed forward Lucas Raymond to an eight-year, $64.6 million contract Monday, completing a deal with one of their best young players less than 72 hours before training camp begins.
Raymond will count $8.075 million against the salary cap through 2032. The 22-year-old was a restricted free agent without a contract for the upcoming NHL season and was coming off setting career highs with 31 goals, 41 assists and 72 points.
The Red Wings have another one of those in defenceman Moritz Seider, who won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2021-22.
Detroit is looking to end an eight-year playoff drought dating to the Original Six franchise’s last appearance in 2016.
Raymond, a Swede who was the fourth pick in 2020, has 174 points in 238 games since breaking into the league.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kirk Cousins led a flawless last-minute drive for Atlanta and connected with Drake London for a 7-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left to give the Falcons a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
Saquon Barkley dropped a short pass that stopped the clock with 1:46 left and forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal instead of a game-sealing first down. That was plenty of time for Cousins — especially against an Eagles defense playing soft coverage with a nonexistent pass rush.
The 36-year-old veteran, playing his second game since tearing his Achilles tendon last Oct. 29 while playing for Minnesota, shook off an uneven effort and hit Darnell Mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays during the decisive drive.
Cousins found London on a short pass to his right for the tying score, and Younghoe Koo put Atlanta (1-1) on top with a 48-yard extra point after London was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. The go-ahead drive took just 65 seconds.
Jalen Hurts had his final pass intercepted by Jessie Bates III to seal Atlanta’s win and set off a wild celebration on the sideline.
The Eagles (1-1) went ahead on Hurts’ 1-yard tush push score with 6:47 left. Barkley finished with 95 yards on 22 carries in his home debut for Philadelphia, but his drop provided the Falcons with some hope.
And then Cousins started playing like the QB Atlanta thought it was getting when it signed him to a four-year, $180 million contract.
Cousins finished 20 of 29 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Atlanta’s first TD was a 41-yarder from Cousins to Mooney, who finished with three catches for 88 yards.
Hurts was 23 of 30 for 183 yards, including a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith. With No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown out with a hamstring injury, Smith led the Eagles with seven catches for 76 yards and a score.
Jake Elliott kicked two field goals for the Eagles. His 28-yarder with 1:39 left made it 21-15.
Atlanta kept stalling in the red zone, getting three field goals from Koo, before Cousins fired over the middle to Mooney, who shook loose from C.J. Gardner-Johnson and left him on the turf before he somersaulted into the end zone with 1:21 left in the third quarter for a 15-10 lead. Cousins failed on the 2-point conversion pass.
Hurts had some juice in his step during a second-quarter TD drive, running with abandon for big plays much like he did in the 2022 season. He spiked the ball in a rare, raw show of emotion on a 23-yard run, earning a delay-of-game penalty. He shrugged off the 5-yard setback and scrambled for 9 yards and 15 yards to move the Eagles to Atlanta’s 19.
With comedian Shane Gillis and actor Bradley Cooper among the fans cheering on the Eagles, Hurts connected with Smith in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard TD that made it 7-3.
Under new defensive coordinator Vince Fangio, the Eagles have established an early knack for allowing long drives that end with three points instead of seven. Koo kicked field goals of 39, 22 and 34 yards, the last one enough for a 9-7 lead in the third quarter. In their opener, the Eagles held the Packers to just three field goals when they drove inside the 20.
Questionable call
Rather than take a chip-shot field goal from Elliott, the Eagles’ fourth-and-4 gamble at Atlanta’s 9-yard line in the first quarter failed when Hurts threw an incomplete pass.
Elliott kicked a 29-yarder with 4:31 left in the third quarter for a 10-9 lead.
Running wild
Bijan Robinson ran for 97 yards for the Falcons. The Eagles stuffed him late on fourth-and-1 at the Atlanta 39.
Barkley was quiet until the go-ahead drive, a week after he rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns against Green Bay. Eagles fans booed when the opening drive of the game ended without Barkley touching the ball. They went wild when he had consecutive 9-yard runs to open the second drive. Barkley had 40 yards rushing in the first half.
Foles honored
Former Eagles QB Nick Foles, who led the franchise to its only Super Bowl title, served as an honorary captain and led the crowd in a rendition of “Fly, Eagles, Fly.”
Injuries
The Falcons played without LB Nate Landman (calf, quad).
Up next
Atlanta hosts Super Bowl champion Kansas City on Sunday.
TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.
The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.
Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.
“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”
Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.
Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.
Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.
Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.
Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.
Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
