The Toronto Blue Jays have become one of the surprise dark horse contenders for two of the best players available this offseason, and it seems their motivations to land them go beyond just winning a World Series.
For the third time in the last four years, the Blue Jays were able to navigate a difficult division and make it into the MLB Playoffs. However, also for the third consecutive time, they were ousted from the postseason without winning a single game.
Related: Record-breaking Shohei Ohtani contract could amount to nearly double the New York Mets 2023 payroll
While there are certainly positives to take from the Blue Jays being a consistently competitive team over the last four seasons, that success has also created a far higher standard and lofty aspirations the organization has not gotten anywhere close to reaching. That is why it is not a complete surprise that they have been active to try and improve the roster for 2024.
However, instead of targeting some of the better players on the free agent and trade market, Toronto has been linked to serious and unexpected pursuits of the top two players available — two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani and All-Star Juan Soto.
Both would be bold additions that certainly make them much better, but it seems the organization’s motivations in their surprise superstar pursuits are different than some might expect.
Toronto Blue Jays pursuit of Shohei Ohtani motivated by cost of new stadium renovations
On Sunday, The Athletic MLB insiders Ken Rosenthal and Kaitlyn McGrath wrote about the team’s being major players in the Ohtani and Soto chase and explained what is pushing the organization to make some of the biggest moves of the offseason.
Firstly, while the Toronto Blue Jays’ early playoff elimination in 2023 has had an effect, the consistent short playoff runs have likely put the jobs of President Mark Shapiro and General Manager Ross Atkins in danger. And the outlet suggests trying to hold on to their spots is pushing the front office to be bolder than in years past.
Another interesting element is the Blue Jays’ failure to ink young stars Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guererro Jr. to extensions. Landing either or both Ohtani and Soto to become serious title contenders could go a long way in changing Bichette and Guererro’s apparent disinterest in staying in Canada.
Lastly, and most fascinating, is that the insiders believe the Blue Jays have likely been spurred on by the need “to sell new premium seating to justify the cost” of ongoing $300 million renovations to Rogers Centre. The upgrades are leading to an overall ticket price increase, and adding a player like Ohtani would lead to a massive revenue boost to help pay for those costs.