[browna]

Hard to say.

If you read all the articles on Ohtani this last couple years, he's a bit of a wild card and very private and is a very smart guy and man of habit and needing things just so.

Each team wanting him would bend over backwards to accommodate him in this regard, but he is also unconventional in his ways. Jays may not get him but the decision would be fit for him and chance to win, not how much money he makes or what market he's in, though I think he knows he would be a massive star in this entire country, and does that trump being a massive star in Dallas, or as one 40 miles north of Anaheim?

So, I don't think he'd use the Jays as a pawn. If Kikuchi has any sway here, and Jays have had good fortune with Ryu, you never know. The guy is an amazing talent and hard worker to be probably the most talented player in modern baseball history. He will come back in 2025 as an SP stronger then ever, and his fitness and smarts and training are what makes him a great hitter, so that's not going anywhere.