In Toronto, Ohtani watch at full tilt, from flights to reservations

In Toronto, excitement over Shohei Ohtani has reached a fever pitch.

The Toronto Blue Jays are reportedly among the front-runners to sign the versatile superstar, and as Ohtani’s decision approaches, social media is ablaze with rumors and conjecture.

On X Friday, a private jet flight from Anaheim to Toronto was scheduled to take off at 9 a.m. PT. Many fans were interested in the flight, but it’s not clear if Ohtani will be traveling with the aircraft. The plane was supposed to land at Pearson Airport at 3:54 p.m. ET.

It’s unclear whether this has anything to do with Shohei Ohtani, but kudos to “X” users who have located a private jet that is scheduled to depart from Anaheim this morning and, if it does, is it a visit to Toronto since he was in Dunedin last Monday? Will he sign, or not? Who knows?

Over 650 people retweeted a post by X user Clarence Frazer, who revealed that Blue Jays pitcher Yusei Kikuchi had reserved a restaurant for more than fifty people on Friday night.

Carlo Colaiacovo of TSN reported that a listener had forwarded the same rumor to First Up! on TSN 1050 Toronto on Friday morning, with a warning that it was presented as unreliable information on the air.

Given that Kikuchi and Ohtani both attended Hanamaki Higashi High School in Japan, their relationship is well known.

The Blue Jays had a 35-to-1 advantage.

Ohtani’s subsequent squad at FanDuel in September. Those odds were -115 as of Friday morning.

FanDuel closed the market Friday morning with the Los Angeles Dodgers at -135, making them the current favorites to sign Ohtani.