Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins knows the opportunity to sign a player of Shohei Ohtani's caliber doesn't come along every day, and his decision to join the Los Angeles Dodgers was a difficult one to accept.
At least that's what he said at a Zoom press conference on Wednesday. It was also the first time Atkins spoke to the media since the Japanese agreed to the terms of a 10-year, $700 million contract with the California team.
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“We were obviously very disappointed with the result and it was very difficult to answer the call,” he said, whose comments were relayed by the Toronto Star.
The Toronto organization's top brass had no doubt about Ohtani's interest in the Blue Jays, and he doesn't believe the pitcher and designated hitter's agent used his team to boost auctions.
“[C’était un] “An incredible process, group effort and collaboration that I feel so good about,” Atkins continued. Not just this process, but what it meant for the organization, for the city, for the country to be in this position. […] “I have no doubt that he was drawn to the country, the city and the team.”
The 50-year-old was cautious about commenting on the progress of negotiations with Ohtani, although he acknowledged that he had visited the Jays' training complex in Dunedin, Florida.
Confident for the future
Despite everything, Atkins remains confident and doesn't believe his club needs many reinforcements. He made no secret of the fact that he was always willing to improve his team, but did not want to raise expectations at this level.
“I don’t think we will add three players. I think it’s most likely closer to one,” he said, according to MLB.com.
He also shared his opinion about the missing elements in his training, which may raise eyebrows among many fans of the Queen City club.
“I think the things we are missing are not the players. What we lacked was our ability to support and help them. We feel like we have worked to compensate for that and put ourselves in a much better position.”
In this regard, the Blue Jays have added Matt Hague to their group, who will serve as assistant hitting coach.
Last season, Toronto was defeated by the Minnesota Twins in the first round of the playoffs.