Did Shohei Ohtani's clan use the Toronto Blue Jays to squeeze as much money as possible from the Los Angeles Dodgers' coffers?
A pretty crazy conspiracy theory is circulating
• Also read: Shohei Ohtani signs with the Dodgers for $700 million
This is information from the renowned journalist Tom Verducci that has alarmed Internet users.
“When there were reports on Friday that Ohtani's hiring was imminent and that he would be heading to Toronto to sign with the Blue Jays, it was all completely false. However, the Dodgers didn’t know that. They held their meetings on Friday with concern. The rumors may have been false, they concluded, but they still created a climate of concern among Los Angeles executives,” Verducci wrote.
It was a very respected MLB Network journalist, Jon Morosi, who reported that Shohei Ohtani was on his way to Toronto. Ohtani's agents would neither confirm nor deny this information. Numerous Internet users followed the flight path of a private jet that took off from Santa Ana, California, to Toronto.
Eventually it was learned that the man aboard that plane was Robert Herjavec, entrepreneurial star of the CBC show Dragon's Den. However, Herjavec also happens to be a speaker for CAA, the agency that represents Ohtani, a link that arouses suspicion among Internet users. Was the trip planned to stoke doubts in Dodgers management? Did the Ohtani clan deliberately pass misinformation to Morosi to further the case?
So you're telling me that Ohtani's camp not only gave Morosi and Hoornster fake information, but they also CREATED A FAKE FLIGHT to use the Jays as leverage to get over $100 million more from the Dodgers than they should have should.
Hate Boras all you want, but even he didn't do anything that crazy. pic.twitter.com/9gQiOAGpGB
— Albaro Garcia (@_AlbaroGarcia) December 10, 2023
This is probably all just madness, but this information, coincidental or not, will increase the discontent of those who accuse the Ohtani clan of using the Blue Jays to raise the stakes.