Where is Shohei Ohtani going? Conflicting reports, Toronto Blue Jays rumors send social media into frenzy
LOS ANGELES - Where is Shohei Ohtani going? All eyes remain on the 2-time AL MVP as he enters this winter offseason as a free agent after spending the previous six months with the Los Angeles Angels.
With no formal announcements from Ohtani or any of the 30 MLB teams that could sign him, fans awaiting the big news have been gravitating towards rumors, theories and speculation on social media. On December 8, those Ohtani free agency rumors sent social media into a frenzy.
It started with MLB Network insider Jon Morosi reporting early Friday morning that Ohtani's decision was "imminent," possibly as early as Friday. Morosi then followed up with his 5:39 a.m. PT report with another update saying the Toronto Blue Jays are among the finalists in the Ohtani sweepstakes.
Morosi then reported that Ohtani was on his way to Toronto on December 8, leading social media users to start tracking down flights possibly linked to Ohtani.
Shohei Ohtani greeted by fans, meets Kodai Senga pregame
LA Angels two-way megastar Shohei Ohtani gets greeted by fans during one of the batting practices at the 2023 MLB All-Star week. He also greeted fellow Japanese baseball star Kodai Senga, of the New York Mets, prior to the 2023 MLB Home Run Derby. Ohtani will not participate in Monday night's tournament, despite leading the league in homers.
Adam Laskaris – who writes for a Canadian website, Daily Hive Toronto – posted on his social media page shortly after the 5 a.m. Morosi report that there was a flight from Orange County to Toronto.
"Do with that what you will," Laskaris wrote on social media.
Another social media user, @cdnpoli101, posted on social media alerting the same thing.
"I don't want to go full [Kawhi Leonard] here but it isn't common to see such a flight between those two airports," the user wrote, sharing a screenshot of the flight itinerary.
It wasn't just Morosi who linked Ohtani with the Jays. J.P. Hoornstra of DodgersNation.com published a report saying Ohtani is going to sign with Toronto.
Toronto-native Drake even chimed in on the rumor mill – posting a photo of him wearing the No. 17 Ohtani MLB All-Star Game jersey.
Hours after fans started tracking flights to Toronto, USA Today's Bob Nightengale published a report contradicting the Friday morning rumors. In fact, Nightengale said in his report that Ohtani is at home in Southern California, not flying to Toronto.
Angels beat reporter and SoCal News Group's Jeff Fletcher and Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith also echoed Nightengale's report, saying Ohtani is not crossing the U.S.-Canada border on Friday.
As of 4 p.m. PT, December 8, neither Ohtani nor any of the 30 MLB teams have made announcements regarding where the two-way star will play next. Also worth mentioning that none of the reports from Friday's social media frenzy explicitly said the Blue Jays are out of the Ohtani mix.
This is a developing story. Stay with FOX 11 Sports for the latest.