Shohei Ohtani

As the ongoing free agency of Shohei Ohtani continues to hold up the remainder of the free agent and trade markets, Jon Morosi of MLB.com reports that the two-time American League MVP is expected to make a decision on his free-agent destination before the end of the weekend.

Ohtani’s free agency has, by design, been shrouded in secrecy. He and agent Nez Balelo of CAA Sports have worked to keep rumors of his potential destination under wraps, and many clubs have reportedly been wary of leaking information or commenting on Ohtani’s free agency in any capacity, for fear that it may hurt their chances of signing him.

Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts bucked that trend yesterday by announcing that his team recently hosted Ohtani for a meeting at Dodger Stadium and stating the obvious: that Ohtani is the Dodgers’ top priority. There’s been plenty of hand-wringing among Dodger faithful that Roberts’ comments harmed the team’s chances, though Morosi said in an appearance on MLB Network this morning that he does not see “in any way” that Roberts’ acknowledgment of what everyone already knew would serve as a deterrent to getting a deal done. It’d indeed be rather surprising if Ohtani’s decision on where he’ll play the next 10 to 13 seasons at a likely price tag north of $500MM were substantially impacted by a team’s manager simply acknowledging interest that has been anticipated for more than a year.

As it stands, the Dodgers are definitively known to have met with Ohtani. Reports this week indicated that the Blue Jays and Giants were also likely to have held sitdowns with the two-way star — the Jays at their spring complex in Dunedin, Fla. and the Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco. The incumbent Angels are also believed to be in the mix still. Last night, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer vehemently refuted reports that his own club’s optimism of landing Ohtani had “significantly waned.” It’s not known when or whether the Cubs hosted a meeting of their own with Ohtani, but Hoyer’s comments keep the door open for them as well.

Whether there are any darkhorse clubs who’ve managed to keep their involvement entirely off the radar is unclear, though that possibility can’t be discounted, given the nature of Ohtani’s free agency and the sheer demand an unprecedented talent like this has created. The Red Sox, Mets and Rangers were all involved early on in the process, but they’ve since appeared to shift their attention elsewhere after falling behind in the bidding.

If Ohtani indeed makes his decision in the next 96 hours or so (give or take), that would in all likelihood set the stage for the proverbial offseason floodgates to open. None of the reported finalists has been willing to make a significant move until learning whether they’ll be the team to ultimately reel in Ohtani. As such, that’s directly impacted the market for names like Yoshinobu Yamamoto (presumably a target of all finalists in the Ohtani bidding), top free agent bats like Cody Bellinger (a potential Giants, Jays or Angels target if Ohtani goes elsewhere) and even trade candidates like Tyler Glasnow and Shane Bieber, whose teams surely want to gauge interest from the runners-up in the Ohtani bidding.

Shohei Ohtani’s camp at CAA has done a good job keeping his free agency a relatively silent endeavor, but there have been occasional indicators that his market is beginning to narrow. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported last week that the Red Sox, Rangers and Mets had shifted their focus to players other than Ohtani, not believing themselves to be strong contenders to land him. Today, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that the Cubs are in a similar position. Chicago’s “optimism of landing Ohtani has now significantly waned,” per Nightengale, citing a high-ranking team executive.

Known suitors for Ohtani generally include the Dodgers, Blue Jays, Angels and Giants. (Others have surely expressed interest throughout the offseason.) If the Cubs are indeed pessimistic and/or turning their attention elsewhere, that makes four teams in the past four days that are now said to be increasingly doubtful about their chances of landing the two-time AL MVP. Given the secretive nature of Ohtani’s market, it’s always possible there are additional, surprise suitors lurking, but to this point there’s little to no indication of the ever-popular “mystery team” joining the fray.

As a major market club with long-term needs in the rotation and an immediate gap at designated hitter, the Cubs made plenty of sense as an Ohtani suitor. Chicago’s projected $178MM payroll is a ways of from the franchise-record $203MM Opening Day mark, and for a player like Ohtani it stands to reason that most clubs would be comfortable stretching beyond their previously established comfort levels. Ohtani could’ve slotted into the 2025 rotation alongside Justin Steele and would’ve added a thunderous left-handed bat to a lineup that could well lose resurgent Cody Bellinger, who is also a free agent.

Over the past few days, reports have emerged of in-person meetings between Ohtani’s camp and a few clubs. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported yesterday that the Blue Jays are “believed” to have met with Ohtani at their spring complex on Monday, when GM Ross Atkins was noticeably absent from the site of the Winter Meetings in Nashville and conducted his media availability via Zoom. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle similarly reported that there were “indications” of a weekend meeting between the Giants and Ohtani at Oracle Park in San Francisco.

Suffice it to say, most teams have been quite wary of tipping their hand and perhaps harming their chances of hammering out a deal with Ohtani, who clearly wants a free-agent experience that does not play out in the public eye. While there was originally hope that Ohtani might make a decision at this week’s Winter Meetings, over the past 48 hours each of Nightengale, Jon Heyman of the New York Post and others have begun to suggest that Ohtani could continue conducting meetings with teams after this week’s event.

Blue Jays officials are “believed” to have met with Shohei Ohtani at the team’s complex in Dunedin on Monday, writes Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. It’s the latest development in a free agency process shrouded in secrecy, as Ohtani’s camp has reportedly made clear that the superstar would hold it against teams if they leak pertinent information.

Speculation about Ohtani and the Jays heightened this afternoon when Toronto general manager Ross Atkins switched his media availability to a Zoom conference. Atkins declined to specify his location, but his absence from Nashville’s Winter Meetings indicated he had other priorities. The Jays called the matter a “scheduling conflict.”

Ohtani meeting with Jays’ officials, assuming that was indeed the case, affirms that they’re in the running for the AL MVP. Yet it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a clear favorite. Rosenthal adds that the Dodgers and Cubs are involved, with other teams possibly still under consideration.

To that end, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote this evening that there are “indications” Ohtani had met with Giants’ brass on Saturday. Team officials were spotted at Oracle Park, while Slusser wrote on Saturday of “rumblings” that Ohtani was in San Francisco.

As a result of Ohtani’s evident desire to keep the process as mysterious as possible, executives and coaches with every team involved have steadfastly remained quiet. Angels manager Ron Washington joked at his media availability today that he “didn’t have anything to say about (Ohtani’s free agency) right now, because (he didn’t) want to let anything out of the bag” (video provided by Beyond the Halo).

With Ohtani’s free agency contributing to a slow pace early in the offseason, many fans have hoped for a resolution at the Winter Meetings. That may not be coming. Jon Heyman of the New York Post wrote on Monday afternoon that Ohtani could continue meeting with interested teams beyond the conclusion of the meetings on Wednesday.