Photo: MLB
Reigning American League MVP Shohei Ohtani's free agent decision has not yet been decided, a source told ESPN's Alden González on Friday (December 8), following an earlier report that it was "imminent."
"Source: Shohei Ohtani has not made a decision yet. That’s not to say it won’t ultimately be the Blue Jays; my understanding is that, at this point, that decision has not been made," González wrote on his X account.
González's update came hours after a source with knowledge of the situation told MLB Network's Jon Morosi that Ohtani's decision was "imminent" and could be revealed as early as Friday.
"Source: Shohei Ohtani’s decision is imminent, possibly as early as today. @MLBNetwork @MLB," Morosi wrote on his X account Friday.
The Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers are reportedly among the finalists to land Ohtani, according to Morosi.
"We still do not know where, that part is still unconfirmed. As of the middle of this week, there were still five teams involved, we believe. I do know this, that in the last week since his visit to meet in Florida on Monday, momentum has built for the Blue Jays. I will stress and say we do not have this confirmed as to where he's going to go, just that, in the last several days, the Jays have certainly improved their standing.
"For a long time the Dodgers have been regarded as the favorites and that was still the case as of the middle of this week. But again, this is now happening, I think, in real time today. I do believe that this final group of teams does involve the Blue Jays and the Dodgers, I'm not sure how many teams are in that final group and we should be hearing, we believe, sometime within the next 24 hours."
Ohtani is arguably the biggest star in baseball as one of the leagues best starting pitchers and hitters. The Japanese native led his country to a World Baseball Classic days before his second AL MVP season in which he hit for a .304 average with a league-best 44 home runs and 95 RBIs and recorded a 10-5 record with a 3.14 ERA and 167 strikeouts in 23 starts and 132.0 innings pitched.