Although at least one reporter passed out in the press room on the first day of the MLB winter meetings, things might soon turn around. The best player in the game and in the off-season, Shohei Ohtani, may be approaching the Blue Jays in talks, according to circumstantial evidence.

Although all parties have made a concerted effort to keep negotiations private, Ohtani, 29, has been associated with Toronto for weeks. There might have been an event on Monday. Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins allegedly changed his planned in-person media appearance to Zoom and then chose not to disclоse his whereabоuts to reporters. Nez Balelo, Ohtani’s agent, was likewise not thought to be in Nashville on Monday. It is believed that Ohtani is at home in the western United States, perhaps with his dog, whose identity he has also withheld. (This represents the degree of concealment at play.)

John Schneider, the manager of the Blue Jays, had his media conference rescheduled from Monday afternoon to Tuesday. According to someone with knowledge of the procedure, the modification was made on Friday. When asked if there was a connection between Schneider’s altered itinerary and Atkins’s classified location, a team representative did not respond. When asked whether he was with Ohtani at the time, Atkins did not respond. When asked whether he was with Atkins at the time, Balelo did not respond.

For Ohtani, the Blue Jays would make sense in a lot of ways. He might want a contract worth more than half a billiоn dollars, and Toronto’s payroll was only No. 11 in the previous campaign. However, some executives think his deal will pay for itself because of his potential for worldwide marketing. Like NHK did the previous season, Japanese television will most likely submit a bid to broadcast his team’s games. As other Japanese businesses have done when he joined the Angels prior to the 2018 season, it is highly likely that they will compete to sponsor the team. Additionally, as they did when he played in Anaheim, Japanese supporters will most likely get interested in his squad. Japan could replace Canada as the team.

And that team ought to be superior than the one Ohtani is leaving behind, which, despite having Mike Trout and him on staff, never made the playoffs. Though they have been eliminated in the opening round each time, the Blue Jays have advanced to the postseason in three of the previous four seasons. It’s not difficult to see how a player with Ohtani’s skill set could establish them as a serious contender. They have a quality middle of the rotation that needs an ace, and a youthful lineup that needs an anchor.

Of course, Ohtani is arguably the greatest player to have ever lived. If he could only bat, he would be the most attractive hitter on the field; if he could only pitch, he would be the most attractive pitcher. Even the elbow ιnjury that will prevent him from pitching until 2024 will probably increase rather than decrease the complexity of his contract. An entire industry will snap awake upon his signing.