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Things appeared to be reaching a conclusion on Friday morning regarding Shohei Ohtani's free agency.
Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported on Friday morning that Ohtani's free agency decision was imminent and a decision may arrive as soon as Friday. Internet sleuths went to work after Morosi's report and identified a private flight that was occurring on Friday afternoon from Anaheim, California to Toronto, Canada.
A private flight from Anaheim airport to Toronto has popped up on flight trackers departing at 9am PST.
— JB | Polisci (@cdnpoli101) December 8, 2023
I don’t want to go full Kawaii here but it isn’t common to see such a flight between those two airports. #Ohtani #BlueJays pic.twitter.com/Tc9VwtD54X
There was even a rumor that Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Yusei Kikuchi made a reservation for 50+ people at a sushi restaurant near Rogers Centre.
SOURCE: Yusei Kikuchi reserves entire upscale sushi restaurant near Rogers Centre for tonight. Reservation made for 50+ people. Make of it what you will…#BlueJays #NextLevel #MLB
— Clarence Frazer (@clarencefrazer) December 8, 2023
Morosi appeared to provide validation to the rumors on social media when he reported through a source that Ohtani was indeed en route to Toronto.
Sources: Shohei Ohtani is en route to Toronto today.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 8, 2023
A representative of his agency, CAA, would not comment when asked about Ohtani’s travel plans.
At this hour, Ohtani does not have a signed agreement with any @MLB team. @MLBNetwork
As the readers' context provided in Morosi's post reveals, Ohtani was never en route to Toronto on Friday.
Shohei Ohtani is NOT in Toronto.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 8, 2023
Ohtani is NOT on a flight to Toronto.
Ohtani is at home in Southern California.
One more time: Ohtani is NOT in Toronto. There is no agreement anywhere. No decision is imminent. People need to stop lying and guessing. He has not made his decision. Again carry on.
— Jim Bowden⚾️🏈 (@JimBowdenGM) December 8, 2023
As for who was on the private plane, it was Shark Tank's Robert Herjavec.
The night ended with an apology from Morosi.
Today, I posted reporting that included inaccurate information that Shohei Ohtani was traveling to Toronto. I regret the mistake and apologize to baseball fans everywhere. I am deeply sorry for letting you down.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 9, 2023
There is no doubt that there was damage done to Morosi's credibility on Friday. While he never did report that Ohtani was signing with the Blue Jays, his posting of sourced information including suggesting that Ohtani was on the plane just about walked fans up to the conclusion that the Blue Jays were indeed going to be the team that would be signing the two-way superstar. Fans will likely take much of Morosi's reporting with a grain of salt moving forward but he does deserve credit for owning up to his mistake.
Ohtani's free agency process has tested reporters given the lack of credible information that has leaked. There should be not blame cast upon Ohtani for wanting to keep the process private. That is a right that Ohtani has. Reports need to be better and perhaps we do get official confirmation on where Ohtani signs this weekend but if we don't, that is fine.