Shohei Ohtani’s decision to sign with the Dodgers for a record-breaking ten-year, $700MM deal sent shockwaves around the sports world, though a particularly heavy dose of the impact settled in Toronto. Blue Jays fans (and possibly the team itself ) spent much of Friday wondering if Ohtani had decided on the Jays as his next destination, and a pair of now-debunked media reports only added to the fever of speculation.
The full story of the Jays’ pursuit of the two-way star might not be known for some time, yet in pure financial terms, it seems as though the club at least came close to the final asking price. Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith hears from a source that the Blue Jays’ offer to Ohtani was “right there,” so it doesn’t appear as though the Dodgers’ $700MM deal was too far removed from what the Jays (or potentially other suitors) put on the table.
Given how Ohtani’s contract is so far beyond the normal stratosphere for baseball contracts or sports contracts in general, it is fair to assume that teams’ approach also differed greatly from a normal free agent courtship. This was already apparent with the immense level of secrecy requested by Ohtani and his agent Nez Balelo, as every detail (true or exaggerated) that leaked out about Ohtani’s intentions was heavily scrutinized.
As Nicholson-Smith notes, there have already been conspiracy theories launched that Balelo and CAA used the Jays’ interest as a smokescreen to get the Dodgers to up their offer at the last minute since Los Angeles was Ohtani’s preferred choice all along. Or, perhaps the simplest answer is true — the Blue Jays did enough to make themselves a genuine consideration in the two-time AL MVP’s mind, regardless of where the Dodgers may or may not have ranked for Ohtani heading into the offseason.
Learning that the Jays got within the ballpark of signing Ohtani probably doesn’t ease much or any of the sting for Toronto fans. The fact that the Blue Jays were willing to spend perhaps upwards of $650MM, $675MM, or whatever the final bid was also doesn’t necessarily mean that the team has that much to spend in general this offseason, considering the special nature of Ohtani’s on-field ability and starpower.
Still, the Jays haven’t been shy about spending over the last few seasons, and the team has also been linked to such major free agents as Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Cody Bellinger, former Jay Matt Chapman, and a host of other players on the free agent and trade markets. GM Ross Atkins has typically looked to at least check in on just about every notable free agent of the last few years, so this broad strategy could help the Blue Jays make a quick pivot as they explore their backup plans.
Cknyc
the plane to toronto still hasnt landed.
Dread Pirate Roberts
It must be in a holding pattern
99CaptainJudge99
Does it really matter now? He was never going.
OIC2021
“ Blue Jays Made Competitive Offer To Shohei Ohtani”
Yep, and Oswald acted alone.
haighwiser
Oh it was because “he really wanted to go to the Dodgers”, it wasn’t the extra $25 to $50 million they were willing to give him. Why do all these sportswriters always give cover to the Yankees and Dodgers? They went there because of money, they could care less if it said Dodgers, Blue Jays, or Angels on the front of their uniform. I can’t blame Ohtani or any other player because 25 to 50 million dollars is huge!
Mrivers
And Ruby had no help. But I digress…..
Jays aren’t far from a WS. Unfortunately, bad FA season for offense.
They’ve spent well on their pitching. Kudos. Gausman over Ray.
stymeedone
At least they aren’t claiming Toronto made a better offer and, out of the goodness in his heart, Ohtani choose the LAD lower offer.
JaysnCards
I agree that his true intentions all along were the Dodgers and the Jays only helped him land even more money with the Dodgers
99CaptainJudge99
The plane never left Los Angeles apparently
fivepoundbass
Flight 828
bmcferren
Dodgers are cheating
You cannot defer that money
Should pay the payroll tax and their rotation should suffer because they invested this way
filihok
bmc
“Dodgers are cheating
You cannot defer that money”
I mean, you definitely can defer money, so it’s absolutely not cheating
Dumb taek.
Jeremy135
Not cheating, but I do think this is something the league should change.
CardsFan57
Why should the league care? It has no affect on the CBT.
filihok
Jeremy
Why?
RGR
Impossible to do now bc the cats out of the hat and lol and behold who’s gonna need to take advantage of this glaring mistake by MLB next? U got it, those same Jays will definitely be offering huge deferrals to Vladdy and Bo whilst simultaneously threatening MLB with a lawsuit if they try to change the rules after allowing this contract thru……..only way to change things now is to void the Dodgers and Ohtani’s contract and i dont see that happening
CardsFan57
People! CBT is based on total contract amount/years played under the contract. No one should care how long it takes to pay out the contract. Sour grapes are fine. Must they be irrational sour grapes?
Dodger Dogg
Do you all remember when the McCrooks took the Dodgers to near bankruptcy and were forced to sell the team? Thank goodness the Dodgers found new owners with deep pockets and who are focused on making the playoffs every year.
For the betterment of baseball, perhaps this should happen to more greedy owners who are more interested in filling their own bank accounts rather than fielding a competitive team. Because, we all know, a salary cap in MLB will not happen.
lowtalker1
Bc they cared when the padres attempted to do this last offseason
Bostonsportsforlife
next big star gets a 10 year, $50M(5 per year) contract. immediately after the 10 years
are up. retirement and a one year 750M “personal services” contract.
GASoxFan
CBT is based on the net present day value of the contract.
So, let’s do a hypothetical. Say a player signs a 10yr, 100m deal, but, the money is deferred over such a period that the value of the compensation reduced to its present day value is only 50m, then the CBT will tax each year of the deal as 5m in CBT limit.
So, while we’re talking a 70m/yr salary for ohtani, because that 70m/yr isn’t the present day value, merely the total of payments, the CBT hit will be less.
That goes against the spirit of what the CBT was designed to discourage.
avenger65
Funny, isn’t it, that no one was this upset when judge did the same thing last off-season? The Giants fans, perhaps, but no one was calling for rule changes when he stiffed the Giants and signed a huge contract with his previous team. The most recent rule change was, Ohtani could still stay in the game as a DH even though he got taken out as a pitcher. Yet another rule change by the bonehead in the commissioner’s office.
GASoxFan
Did judge defer a reported significant, possibly majority, of his salary a period of years, possibly decades, out?
That would be the required parallel to be an apples to apples comparison
stymeedone
No, the only way to change things now, would be to apply the new rule to every players contract, including Ohtani’s, just like they did when this change in handling deferrals was pased.
stymeedone
I thought that, too, but the new union contract now takes the “current” value and discounts the future value of the deferral amounts. So because of the deferrals, the Dodgers won’t get charged the full amount against the CBT. We don’t know how much was deferred, and we don’t know how much of a discount. I’m sure the Nationals would have loved this with Scherzer’s contract.
stymeedone
This was a Union negotiated rule change, approved by the owners. This was not instituted by the commissioner.
Tigers3232
@GASox, do you know how deferrals work and why they benefit Franchises from a financial standpoint??
Any $ that is deferred each season most have the principal for the amount anticipated to accrue to value of payment at time of deferral. They save the clubs $ and grant the playerpiwce of mind.
kingbum
This isn’t a new phenomenon the Mets are still paying Bobby Bonilla and the Reds are still paying Ken Griffey Jr. Many times money gets deferred to help teams get under the tax number, they call it restructuring. The Dodgers and Ohtani just came out and said they will do what’s best for the team while making sure he gets paid. Teams been doing this since 2000 at least that I know of. It wasn’t out in the open catching headlines like this though, it was swept to the back pages so to speak.
The Saber-toothed Superfife
No, the cat is OUT of the bag and INTO the hat.
AND WHAT A FINE HAT IT IS…..
cuffs2
They already have a salary cap. With a luxury tax if you exceed it. Reality is that teams like the Dodgers, Mets and Yankees have so much money to burn that they don’t care. Even with hefty fines to them it’s just the cost of doing business.
Slow day at work
@filihok I think the problem is not that they’re deferring money, it’s the amount of money that is being deferred. According to reports, it is more than half of the $700M, which is egregious.
JoeBrady
The amount of money deferred is simply whatever the LAD and Ohtani agree to. If Ohtani is okay with the money being spread out over thirty years, or whatever, how is that egregious?
GASoxFan
Joe, it’s not about shortchanged the player, it’s the blatant loophole to the entire purpose of the CBT
TigersLoveCinnamon
You can and they’ve done it before. What you should have said, is in no way should it be allowed. They’re 100% continuing to circumvent the rules
JackStrawb
You can defer paying the money.
You cannot defer the money for LT purposes to any number of years you desire.
Recent 10, 12, 13 year deals are pushing it—go beyond those and MLB will decide to compress the total into a more reasonable figure. Blame the Yankees. Their 6 year deal to LeMahieu was an obvious, obvious stretch. No one expects him to still be in the game in Year 7.
If the Dodgers are paying Ohtani 700m over 20 years, MLB will decide to compress that down to 10 to 13 years for tax purposes.
stymeedone
Its in the new Union negotiated contract. Yes, they now discount the deferred amount.
amanateeamongmen
Teams have been deferring payroll for at least close to 30 years.
vikingbluejay67
Ask Bobby Bonilla and the Mets
Jef Leppard
…or Bret Saberhagen, (yup, STILL getting paid by…The Mets.)
bkbk
For personal payroll not for league luxury tax stuff. If the league lets them do some funny business it will be travesty.
Mustard Tiger
I don’t think “cheating” means what you think it means.
Captain Dunsel
Inconceivable!
spudchukar
Mostly dead!
bullred
He’s gaining on us!
Roger Beshen's Patented FootballSlider
Yes for cheating, look at the astros. for cirumventing see, mets-bonilla, nats-mets-scherzer just 3 examples of deferred payment
padam
Bobby Bonilla has entered the conversation.
Oldguy58
We all knew a year ago he was going to be a Dodger. The signs of tampering are overwhelming but Rob Manfred won’t say a thing
avenger65
Old guy: Sure he will. “It will now come to pass that the pitcher’s mound will be as flat as the earth and moved back by a distance of no more than ten feet. That will add even more offense to the game as we continue to beg pre-adolescence, 300- pound gamers to put down their phones, play station controllers and Game Boys and come down to the nearest MLB park. We have enough junk food to keep you on oxygen for at least the first five innings, long enough to see the SP removed from the game with a pitch count of 65.”
fre5hwind
Go cry to Bobby Bonilla LOL
Yankee Clipper
I must admit, I’m confused by the perspective that this is *now* a problem because the LAD acquired Ohtani. Why? Nobody had a problem when the Nats did it repeatedly to afford big contracts; obviously everyone remembered the Mets doing it with Bonilla as well.
Why is this all the sudden a problem? Let’s be real, if these teams spent $150MM on Ohtani the results would’ve been the same. The cheap owners wouldn’t have bid for Ohtani regardless of how relatively modest his price tag was. It seems that it’s a combination of frustration with one’s own team being inactive/not spending and jealousy of the owners that do. It’s far less frustrating to simply root for a more proactive team/owner, imho.
BLIN7Y
The issue is that most had a different understanding of the CBT threshold rules. When reading them it appears the Dodgers should have 70 MM applied to their annual Payroll for 10 years.
Out of the Blue we find out that somewhere there is a special rule that applies based on the Value of Money in the Future versus its value today.
The problem with that is, that circumstance applies to all Contracts that pay out over multiple years.
This quite frankly makes a mockery of the CBT Rules. LA needs to be held to 70 MM AAV on this contract.
Yankee Clipper
I get it, but this is not new and doesn’t change the fact that teams have done this multiple times in recent history. So, whether they understood it, or had different expectations of its implementation, doesn’t negate the fact that LAD is not doing anything different or unprecedented.
In fact, the Nats attempted to do it again with a $440MM offer to Soto, much of which was deferred; and the Jays apparently tried it with Ohtani as well. The outrage is conspicuously directed at the team acquiring the player, not the rule.
Kyatt 2
You just said out of the Blue. We’re you born yesterday! This has been going on in baseball for decades. Like someone else mentioned, it’s not cheating at all but should be changed as a rule.
stymeedone
Its a rule change from the most recent labor dispute. Its a fairly new rule.
Yankee Clipper
Okay, perhaps I did not explain this well, but I’ll try to clarify….
First: This is not new, it was also the same calculation used for deferrals in previous iterations of the CBA
Second: The three teams that have used this the MOST are: Orioles, Mets, and Nationals; however, Boston (Manny Ramirez), Seattle (Griffey, among several others), the Royals with George Brett, and on and on.
Third: The Jays attempted to do the exact same thing for the exact same reasons…
Finally, given all that information and the precedents that have been set forth for decades, in conjunction with the fact that this has been in previous iterations of the CBA, the outrage is not at the rule, it’s at the team – LAD, and from fans of teams that do this as matter of practice!
TrumboRedux
Hey there Lone Ranger!!! Been a while old friend! Hope you are kickin @$$ and takin names as usual Clip!
Yankee Clipper
Trumbo! I hope you are well. Missed you on here brother – you disappeared for awhile it seemed. Glad to see you’re around, man.
TrumboRedux
I had to go away for some time haha This site wasn’t reciprocating the <3 How are your Yanks looking next season? Are they gonna get Yamamoto??
TrumboRedux
P.S. Clip, You ready for the latest Altuve story/sighting? I got a new one for ya..
Yankee Clipper
Oh I hear you brother. Yeah, man I believe the Yanks are going to get him. My opinion is that with the Soto acquisition for one year, yanks know this is a “go for it all” year. Plus, rumors abound about Yamamoto wanting to play on “the biggest and brightest stage” in mlb. That usually narrows it down to Yankees or LAD.
I’m glad you’re doing well, man, I hope your Thanksgiving went well. I’m glad you’re back – we need more like you around here.
TrumboRedux
I am doing A OK Clip! Hope your Dec 7th went good as well I know thats a big day for you and your family! You got your wish with 99 and Rodon last year! The Yanks would be a solid landing spot for him and rally the entire fan base. He could take Ohtani’s spot in the rotation on the Halo’s and I might be just as pleased hah. I would think he would want to play with Shohei though perhaps? Does that factor in the equation??
Dodger Dogg
Go cry a river.
silhouettesaloon
big Nationals fan, I’m guessing?
YankeesBleacherCreature
Worse. He’s a Yankees fan. Wait…
Bostonsports85
I’m so sick of the BS of teams.like.tgis getting around things … It’s just getting too the point dodgers are the Yankees 2.0
Yankee Clipper
But you were okay when Boston deferred almost $100MM of Devers contract for the same reason?
kingbum
@Yankee Clipper…..They don’t understand that this is a welcomed practice in all sports. Every team has a tax specialist (NFL and NBA it’s cap specialist but same thing). That specialist tells the GM what they have available for payroll. The GM has a budget sent down by the owner and he’s expected to make magic within that budget. Sometimes they cut players from rosters or trade them to gain payroll flexibility but the most often is they restructure star player contracts. One of the ways to restructure a deal is through deferred payments. Tom Brady is infamous for doing this it’s how the Patriots stayed a dynasty. No doubt Patrick Mahomes will have to do this in Kansas City. In baseball as you stated Devers just did this. All top players with big contracts that care about winning do something like this to help the GM out. It’s in all sports, I really don’t get the outrage, let the accountants do their jobs.
JoeBrady
Sale as well.
nukeg
Do yourself a favor and Google Bobby Bonilla contract. This is nothing new.
greg1
Uh, the Mets are still paying Bonilla $1.19M every July 1st until 2035.
It’s not illegal.
filihok
MLBTR
“Do yourself a favor and Google Bobby Bonilla contract. This is nothing new.”
I’m begging you
Teach your readers something about contracts
They are clueless
JoeBrady
They are clueless
======================
Now that they have been proven hopelessly incorrect, I am looking forward to their response.
JerseyShoreScore
Other than being factually false, this is a great point!
aspenner27
This is standard practice in the Nationals organization as they defered Scherzer, Zimmerman, Harper and Strasburg long term contracts well into the future and will be getting paid by them for years still.
Sabermetrix
Dodgers still haven’t released the details of the contract so now I’m wondering if they beginning to have buyer’s remorse due to the enormous amount of salary that’ll affect their payroll for years to come (it goes without saying that there are no guarantees that Ohtani can even pitch at a high level again after a second TJ surgery). Imagine if the Dodgers ‘fail’ Ohtani’s Physical to get out of the deal, what a crap show that’ll be lol.
bullred
Deferring money is not cheating. Teams just don’t have players and agents that are willing to take money down the road. Everyone wants money up front. I can put $100,000 bucks in an investment and give someone $1,000,000 bucks off of the interest. It will take some time but Shohei is willing to wait.
Jeremy135
Good thing he didnt go to Toronto… it would have been bad for baseball! No one good should ever go there according to Jon Heyman,
YankeesBleacherCreature
Can’t let Canada win. Go USA!
99CaptainJudge99
I can’t talk about a plane with no wings.
bullred
Go Trudeau! I’ve got nothing.
nukeg
Toronto, the OC (Angels), etc dodged a bullet. This contract is going to look disgusting in less than 5 years. Sure the Dodgers are going to make money off him just as the Angels did. Got it. Father Time does not negotiate. He’s taken down the greatest players to ever play this game and Shohei is no different. I wish him the best but to expect him to be a two way player into his mid to late 30s when he already had two elbow surgeries is pure insanity.
stymeedone
His uniqueness is the international nature of his fan base, more so than his two way ability. At least for his monetary value.
knolln
A ‘competitive’ offer could have well been 1-2 hundred mill or more lower if it didn’t have the kind of deferrals ohtanis arrangement has
filihok
RE Knolln
Yes, that’s what happens with deferred payments,
The Jay’s, instead of deferring payments could have front loaded rhe contract, say, $100 million for the first 4 seasons and then whatever over the last 6.
That could have the same Present Value as the Dodgers’ offer, but payout $100 million less.
It’d have a higher AAV for CBT purposes though, making it harder for TOR to compete,
knolln
Yea that’s what I’m saying. Writer kind of assumed competitive meant right there with them dollar wise when he spitballed they were willing to spend 650-675 or something. Could have just as easily been 450-500 with no deferrals. I’d say that would still be competitive
kingbum
sportsnet.ca/mlb/article/as-ohtani-fallout-continu…
They claim it was north of $600 million, very close to the Dodgers final number
filihok
kb
“They claim it was north of $600 million, very close to the Dodgers final number”
Who are “they” who are making this claim?
No one. It’s speculation by the author of the article.
Knolln, who has, at minimum, some understanding of present value, is correct. The offer could have been much different, but still had a similar value.
DMacNCheez
This feels like the Blue Jays saving face by leaking this. I’m sure more will come out about his free agency in the coming months that will be more telling
Jeremy135
Saving face? The Jays did nothing wrong this entire time. Nobody should be blaming them for being a finalist for the the best on the planet. I would love to get a behind the scenes story on the final 48 hours of negotiations though
Mustard Tiger
They didn’t get their guy. They failed.
Andrew-UK
Just like 29 other teams then.
99CaptainJudge99
Not really, one team got Soto instead.
bullred
How are Yankees going to win when their pitching is giving up 10 runs a game. Out hit them. Face it Yankees suck.
Angry Disgruntled Sox Fan
I doubt it. We still don’t know how much the Red Sox truly offered Betts and that was years ago. This will be speculated for years with rumors. The one fact is that the Dodgers signed him.
5TUNT1N
can’t remember where I heard it, but the number from the jays that was floated was 500 million.
YankeesBleacherCreature
That was the speculated starting bid for Ohtani’s camp to pick up the phone.
99CaptainJudge99
Shohei could fall under one of Canada’s Biggest Disappointments.
bullred
I take it most Americans aren’t Tools. Just a few.
99CaptainJudge99
No only a real tool would ever think Ohtani was ever really signing in Canada with the Blue Jays. It was never happening.
stymeedone
Considering what his market would have become had he played for his third Country, for a media giant, YEAH, there was a very real possibility.
kingbum
I think in the long run Ohtani loses money by not signing with the Blue Jays for the exact reason you stated. Become a megastar in 3 countries and have countless of opportunities. I think 2 factors came into play
1) AL East is very competitive you can have a great roster and still just get 85 to 90 wins and miss the playoffs. Rays and Orioles you can probably pencil them in for at least 90, New York is spending like the Evil Empire is back apparently. There’s no way in hell they traded for Soto without believing they can extend or resign him. Boston has deep pockets and will probably improve too, this means a very tight division next year.
2) He lives in LA already, and knows the scene. The Dodgers have won 100+ games yet again. San Diego is looking like they want to unload. San Francisco and Arizona are barely .500 ballclubs and Colorado is pretty much hopeless.
If my goal was to get paid and make the playoffs as things sit today, at worst the Dodgers would be a wild card team (they need starting pitching) I would choose the Dodgers over Toronto. I believe he’s actually losing money by staying in LA. He’d be a megastar in at least 3 countries if he went to Toronto. I actually think he’d get better endorsement opportunities and you’d have Canadians buying up his jersey as well. Clearly he saw LA as the path of least resistance in making the playoffs.
Mustard Tiger
500 million Canadian. That was their problem.
99CaptainJudge99
BREAKING NEWS: Ohtani’s planes wheels have been found in Los Angeles.
MotownWings
Blue Jays players are paid in USD. You’re welcome for the education.
Slow day at work
@MotownWings here you go: dictionary.com/browse/joke
MotownWings
With the amount of ignorance on here you can’t make the assumption it was a joke.
bullred
So true.
Sa63
Good for the Blue Jays! Going over 500 million not worth it.
JackStrawb
Wait—say Ohtani’s arm had stayed healthy for the rest of the 2023 season.
Would he have gotten $1 billion?
filihok
JackStrawb
The total contract value isn’t what’s really important. Present value is.
It’d be nice if sites like MLBTR made that more obvious in their articles. But, maybe they don’t interstate that either.
Anyway, in theory, Ohtani could have gotten a billion dollar deal that has the same value as the Dodgers’ $700 million deal.
fivepoundbass
@filihok There was an article in this site today that went over present value and luxury tax implications
stymeedone
Leave him alone. He’s on a roll.
cah011381
I personally think the Blue Jays may have had the best offer at some point, and may have even been the frontrunner, but when the Dodgers found out they came in over the top with a bigger offer.
PKCasimir
And I personally think Ohtani was going to sign with the Dodgers no matter what and the only question was for how much. His agent used the Jays like a trainer uses a rabbit to win a thoroughbred horse race.
BigTuna
Ohtani going to the Dodgers is like LeBron going to the Lakers. For reasons other than baseball. As an Angel fan, it will be fun rooting against him for the remainder of his career.
Mustard Tiger
Root against the guy? Why? The Angels did him dirty by not making the playoffs even one time while Ohtani was there. You should root against the Angels. They’re an embarrassment to baseball.
BigTuna
I could make the very same argument and say Ohtani never took the Angels to the playoffs. You’d think a 700 milly guy could take his team to the playoffs 1 time out of 6 seasons.
Amity
He had (quantifiably, inarguably) one of the best three year runs in baseball history. He hit for power, hit for average, got on base, pitched, and was a very good baserunner. It is unserious to blame him for the angels fielding a joke squad around him.
Yanks2
Angels are a disgrace because they have the two best players in baseball on the last decade and never made the playoffs
Amity
Besides all that there is also video evidence that he helped his teammates stop tipping their pitches.
What more do you want?
filihok
BT
If you didn’t know much about baseball, you could think that
Luckily, we both know a lot about baseball and know one player can’t do that,
BigTuna
@filihok Agreed. Take it for what’s it’s worth from an overly bitter Angel fan. Anything but the Dodgers woulda been cool. Wouldn’t be 1% bitter if he chose the Jays.
stymeedone
Yeah, but baseball is a team sport, not a two player sport.
Yanks2
No, baseball is not a one player sport. You just said it yourself, it’s a team sport. Two people, the best in baseball, especially one that can pitch and hit equals a team sport
filihok
BT
“Take it for what’s it’s worth”
Well, it’s worth nothing, so…
99CaptainJudge99
I’m sure the Blue Jays had a great offer for Soto also, we can see how that all worked out to. The Jays should try to sign Cody Bellinger It probably will cost them about $30 million a year, for about 7 or 8 years though. It seems worth it at this point.
TickingTurtle
The Blue Jays might have potentially dodged a long term bullet. You can never predict the future or someone’s health. His past injuries are alarming imho. I know it’s upsetting, but the angels had Ohtani and Trout. Ohtani isn’t the best hitter or pitcher in the game. He was unique. There are better options left that allow them to keep building.
filihok
TT
“Ohtani isn’t the best hitter or pitcher in the game. He was unique. There are better options left that allow them to keep building.”
This is hilarious
Ohtani is the best player in the game. There is no better option
RGR
Tbh if MLB changes their own deferral rules after this, i think the Jays will be launching a lawsuit bc im pretty sure they will be going down this very same path in less than 2yrs with Vladdy and Bo and then the rest of baseball will be screaming about that! The Dodgers and Ohtani have just opened a can of worms that MLB wishes had stayed closed, but unfortunately for MLB unless they void this contract, theres no way t change the rules without their bias being called out
bullred
IMO the Jays front office only signs a long term contract with players who have a strong record of consistency and Bo has that but Vladdy unfortunately does not . They like to get as much information on a player as they can so Vladdy has another year and a half to show his worth but right now I don’t think the Jays sign him.
stymeedone
Rios and Wells are examples?
bullred
Lol! yes of how any contracts can go bad unfortunately but great examples of what to do when they do. Toronto wasn’t stuck with either one. That also wasn’t this Jays management team so keep up.
Tigers3232
@RGR, why would MLB or the teams want to limit deferrals in any way? From a financial perspective they benefit the Franchises.
The amount stipulated to be deferred for any particular year has to have the principal funded that year in the amount anticipated to accrue to value at date deferred $ will be paid.
Anyone with evem a crude understanding of accrued $ knows that this is a benefit to the one paying out.
SFBay314
How or why we didn’t have a competitive bid makes no sense.
why have a tax if you can just defer everything. Especially because inflation is so high it is actually financially smarter for the team to defer.
I’m obv sad/mad about it.
filihok
SFB
“How or why we didn’t have a competitive bid makes no sense.
why have a tax if you can just defer everything”
Because that’s how money works.
This contract isn’t worth $700 million. You wouldn’t give $700 million today to get Ohtani’s payouts, so why should it be taxed as it it were worth $700 million?
YankeesBleacherCreature
Let him have his day to vent. Not every comment needs to be refuted, sir.
HalosHeavenJJ
It’s a gaping hole in the CBA that will only benefit a handful of clubs in huge markets.
The entire reason the CBT is supposedly based on average annual value is to avoid these types of accounting tricks.
It was announced as a 10 year $700 million deal. He’ll play there for 10 years. It should be taxed as the 10 year $700 million it is.
Pretty soon the Dodgers and Yanks will spread all their mega deals out over two or three decades and nobody will pay the tax.
YankeesBleacherCreature
Quit acting like the Angels are not in a big market and can’t afford to cross the tax threshold. They’ve been perennially in the top ten in the league in attendance since before Trout arrived onto to the scene. If Moreno wasn’t allergic to long-term pitcher deals, the Angels would be on the same boat and winning more.
HalosHeavenJJ
And I’d say the same thing about the deferrals not being taxed. It’s crap.
Yes, my favorite team benefits from the crappy economic setup of baseball and could potentially further benefit from this crappy loophole.
Doesn’t change the fact they both suck.
Redstitch108* 2
So true
stymeedone
It was actually to benefit the players. It worked.
YourDreamGM
No idea what Giants are doing. No one cares about Correa but they offered him how much? Judge would have been exciting and they offered how much? Ohtani way more exciting and marketable. They should have have been right there.
AngelsFan1968
There was absolutely no way Judge wasn’t resigning with anyone other than the Yankees, Just as Ohtani wasn’t signing with anyone other than the Dodgers.
HalosHeavenJJ
I’ve said for years that if the NL had the DH 6 years ago Ohtani would’ve been a Dodger then.
I’m thankful I got to watch him up close for 6 years. Wish we’d have done more in his time here.
99CaptainJudge99
If the Yankees didn’t match the offer to Aaron Judge he was definitely going to sign with the Giants. It wasn’t a total loss for San Francisco though they got Arson Judge instead- The Great Jon Heyman.
Neon Cop
MLB colluded with Morosi et al to make sure he signed with LA. The contract loopholes are preposterous.
padam
Not buying that he took Toronto seriously. It was LA all the way with any takers willing to help him gain leverage. Where he signed is such a drastic difference compared to where the rumor was pointing too.
Dumpster Divin Theo
And the Chicago Cubs made Shohei an Anthony Rizzo offer and were shocked to be laughed out of the room
bkbk
Angels offered 575m and a big personal services clause, cheap Arte
haighwiser
$575 million, cheap Arte?? lol… Obviously it wouldn’t have mattered the amount because he just wanted to be a Dodger like everyone is saying. It’s not because the Dodgers came in $25 to $50 million dollars higher than every other team, it’s because he just wanted to be a Dodger!!
Silver Boot Series Enjoyer
Dodgers still need a lot of pitching
unpaidobserver
They’re deferring their pitching.
MrMet1979 2
Ohtani’s reps took that Blue Jays offer and went right back to the Dodgers
Sky14
“The fact that the Blue Jays were willing to spend perhaps upwards of $650MM, $675MM”
That’s only if they deferred as heavily as the Dodgers contract is reported to be.
It’s entirely possible other bids came in around $500 million over 11 or so years and were still competitive.
darinc
The best thing is that Toronto could say they offered 650 and even if their offer was more like 500 we will never know and Ohtani and his agent wouldn’t call them out on it.
angryaggie
The thing I see very few posters discussing is “how many WS championships does this buy the Dodgers?” Maybe 1-2 at best. I see little likelihood of more and it might be even fewer. Hence, the question becomes does this contract pay dividends over the decade long span it extends? I’m on the fence. Championships are important and lucrative from a professional perspective but I am uncertain if they will ultimately be able to say this was a prudent decision over the long term.
Neon Cop
I highly doubt they win any, to be honest. Their problems are systemic; it doesn’t really matter who they sign.
AngelsFan1968
I’ve said from outset that any team that signs him has to look at the ROI in terms of dollars, not championships.
Rishi
In all fairness they can afford it more than most clubs (most could afford it if they wanted tho) because of their huge revenue. That money isn’t going to have the value it sounds like. Inflation will always make these deals more team friendly over time. It’s absurd that we can without doubt say that inflation will continue as long as there is a “functioning” US economy but it’s been so all our lives. His marketability makes it less absurd. Is he going to be as marketable if he can’t pitch? I wouldn’t entirely rule out a change in the rules with deferred money. When people start bringing it up more it will be more likely than ever. It’s only dumb because of the luxury tax. Really it isn’t in the players interest because of inflation. He gets to stay in the same general area and go to a winning club. And make a ton.
Shawn W.
Giants, Cubs, Jays – go ahead and share all the details now. He won’t be signing with you.
Redstitch108* 2
Boo hoo! Poor Toronto fans! How do you’all think we Angels fans feel eh? I will tell you. Disappointed. Angry. Betrayed. The fact that Shohei left the Halos for the “hated” Dodgers stings, especially after how the organization bent over backwards with Ohtani letting him call his own shots when it came to playing time, position, training and other areas. Remember he chose the Halos in the first place because they were willing to do that. And in that environment, he developed into the best player on the planet. I can only hope that he dons an Angels cap in the HOF in 15 years.
haighwiser
Arte could have offered $1 billion “deferred” over 30 year and the Dodgers would have said $1.1billion. The Dodgers were going to do anything to get him and they did. The biggest loser in all of this is on the Angels for not trading him when they had the chance and to actually believe they had a legit chance to bring him back. They should have offered him the 575 million before the trade deadline and if he didn’t agree to it trade him.
MotownWings
Angels fans should direct all of their anger at the Angels. Not once did they put a team around Ohtani that was competitive enough to make the playoffs let alone win a title. Did you expect Ohtani to be happy with losing throughout his whole MLB career?
Niekro floater
Compensation was going to be paid in Canuck dollars n bear skins.
MotownWings
Do some research and maybe you’ll sound less ignorant. Maybe.
JoeBrady
LOL!
Seriously, someone says “Canuck dollars” and you don’t recognize they were joking?
MotownWings
Too much slandering going on here to know for sure.
PhiladelphiaCollins
Hey Angels, do you want to trade Mike Trout for Alex Manoah?
TrumboRedux
Dodgers should have offered to pay him in gold bars to really simplify things and just penciled him in for 800K a year on paper.
GRE
The ONLY Team in Baseball that has not done a thing yet is Toronto….Get off Your ASS….Carry on baggage Asskiss and Do Something !!
maxorange33
News Flash JoeBoe, they are ALL 100% propaganda. None are telling you the truth.
Big cheese G stands for grilled
Private plane booked to Toronto $600 million contract rumoured ‘announcment imminent’ BLUFF Dodgers panic raise $100 million. Ohtani CALLS. The pot $700 million. Well played. Everything done in secret yet we will leak a little information for our clients benefit.
holycow16
Go Cubs Go!!
Angry Disgruntled Sox Fan
The Blue Jays will be happy they didn’t make this deal.
As I said to Jays fans (who disagreed by the way), Ohtani didn’t have much chance signing there. They weren’t going to match the Dodgers’ offer and even if they did, Ohtani would get far more publicity in L.A. than he would in Toronto. Toronto may be a big city (as they argued), but in baseball and American terms, Los Angeles is the bigger city.
30 Parks
Vladdy & Bichette are loving these details – the Jays clearly have the dough to lock-up both players if so desired. The Jays pursuit of Ohtani should formally end the foolish take the Jays are a small market ball club.
tuck 2
Jays are a joke of a franchise. They publicly announce interest in every FA, and then leak stories like this to give the impression they are competitive. Their hype machine is better than the also ran they actually put on the field every year.
Yankeesforever
feel sorry for Jay fans, allow me to wipe away your tears with some sandpaper.
aspenner27
Wasn’t it already reported that no team came within $100mil?
Mercenary.Freddie.Freeman
Maybe Soto to Blue Jays next year then???
DrDick
You keep forgetting Toronto is in Canada.
DrDick
I hope Vlad and Bo remember that their team was willing to give a player $650m when they are ready for FA.
OilCanLloyd
Agreed. If they have good seasons, there’s no reason not to resign them, if that’s their wish.
The Saber-toothed Superfife
Will there be a classic Dodgers vs Yankees World Series?
Digdugler
We need to see the final numbers of the contract before we can draw conclusions. With the deferred money, its likely not a 10 year $700M deal, but a 10 year deal worth x amount and then with interest over 20 years, comes in around $700M total over the course of Ohtani’s life. This is very different from a 10 year deal for $700M both for the luxury tax and for the team financially.
JoeBrady
I was going to say the same exact thing.
The article almost has to be a fabrication.
If we don’t know how much of the deal was discounted, then we have no idea what the real cost of the deal is.
If we have no idea what the real cost of the deal is, it is impossible to know how close TO was.
MotownWings
I believe it was reported there won’t be interest on the deferred payments.
66TheNumberOfTheBest
There was never a world in which he wasn’t going to the Dodgers.
Trash league.
LordD99
“…conspiracy theories launched that Balelo and CAA used the Jays’ interest as a smokescreen to get the Dodgers to up their offer at the last minute since Los Angeles was Ohtani’s preferred choice all along.”
——
Conspiracy theory? An agent playing two teams against the other isn’t a conspiracy, it’s doing his job.
The reason this deal went to $700MM is likely because the Blue Jays pushed it there in an attempt to get the Dodgers to stand down. It seemed like it almost worked.
Chicks dig bunting
He will need ucl surgery probably a pitcher never recovers to well from that either look at that mets pitcher and others that had it. Not good
teddyj
Why would he sign with a Canadian team in an American sport? California already has as many people and a considerably larger GDP than Canada. He was never going to Toronto and Jay’s fans were just too delusional to realize it
basquiat
Mark Shapiro is a master of convincing the media that his team is in contention on every blockbuster blue chip player trade. He did it for years in Cleveland and his biggest splash was Nick Swisher.
jimmertee
Ohtani was NEVER going to sign with the Jays: I posted this Dec 05 across many media sources and posted similar in Steve’s article in these pages Dec 06. The story was out there, don’t listen to the Sportsnet and Morosi /Heyman noise.
From Dec 05: “Ohtani will be a Dodger soon. I hear that he has already made up his mind even though he and his representatives are doing due diligence. He is learning about other possible contract options not money oriented. He can get all he wants moneywise by many clubs. #BlueJays #Dodgers”.
bullred
Thanks for keeping us in the loop Jimmer
Whyme
Atkins is a failure.
JoeBrady
Has anyone seen the Pads Fans who posted about 100 times that the contract would be recognized at $70M a year?
MLBTR needs to hire editors
“Or, perhaps” doesn’t need a comma.