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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — President Jed Hoyer and the Chicago Cubs still believe they are in the mix for two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani.
Hoyer would not offer any details Tuesday beyond that, however, as Major League Baseball’s free agency and trade market largely remain at a standstill waiting for Ohtani’s decision as his courtship remains shrouded in secrecy.
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“I’m not going to comment on it, but we have not been given a status check (by Ohtani’s camp), so to speak,” Hoyer said on the second day of the MLB winter meetings.
Hoyer denied a USA Today report that claimed the Cubs had balked at Ohtani’s 10-year price tag of at least $500 million and they appeared to be out of the bidding.
“I don’t know where that came from, there’s nothing to report whatsoever,” Hoyer said. “On all the Ohtani stuff, just like I would any free agent, I’m not going to talk about discussions or meetings or where it is, just keep that quiet like anything else.”
The Cubs’ silence on the Ohtani front extended to manager Craig Counsell, who kept his answers simple when questioned about the organization’s involvement.
Have the Cubs met with Ohtani?
“I have not,” Counsell replied.
How about the front office?
“I have not,” he repeated.
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Counsell acknowledged he has been on the phone with free agents to recruit since joining the organization last month, noting, “Not a lot, but yes.” He ended his 20-minute availability Tuesday afternoon downplaying another Ohtani-related question, this one centering on whether his statement of having not met with reigning American League MVP is supposed to be an indication of the level of the Cubs’ interest in him.
“Look, I don’t think this is my spot to talk about individual players,” Counsell said. “It’s a great question, but not the spot to talk about it.”
It presented a stark contrast to how Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, speaking simultaneously around the corner from Counsell at the Gaylord Opryland Resort, handled the topic Tuesday. Roberts confirmed Los Angeles met with Ohtani for two to three hours a couple of days ago at Dodger Stadium. He complimented Ohtani’s poker face and said he felt good about the Dodgers’ chances of landing him.
“He had questions for us, just trying to get more of the landscape, but being in this league for six years he’s got a pretty good idea of the Dodgers, what we’re about, the city itself,” Roberts said. “So, for me, and speaking for our guys, it was just a pleasure to get to spend some time with him.”
Ohtani and his agent, Nez Balelo, wanted to keep this process extremely private. It’s unclear what Ohtani, who has not spoken to the media since early August, is prioritizing when picking his next team. Roberts did not sound concerned about publicly confirming the Dodgers’ meeting with Ohtani.
Chicago Tribune Sports
“I don’t feel like lying is something that I do,” Roberts said. “I was asked a question, and yeah, I think to be forthright in this situation, we kept it quiet, but I think that it’s going to come out at some point that we met, and it obviously already has. So, I don’t think myself or anyone in our organization would want to lie about it.”
Hours later, Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes was much less forthright. He expressed surprise to reporters that Roberts had discussed their get-together and said, “I have no idea” if this would hurt their attempt.
The Cubs are prepared to adjust as needed if Ohtani signs elsewhere. But for now, the organization still has its sights set on Ohtani.
“The truth is, with this free-agent pursuit and others, very few people are aware of what’s being discussed or what’s going on, on purpose. All sides have kept it that way and I think it’s going to stay that way,” Hoyer said. “I feel like in this case, yeah, there’s real secrecy, but everyone knows there is secrecy. I think there’s been others that are really secret that no one knew about, if that makes any sense.
“I’ve seen this kind of secrecy before, but it wasn’t necessarily public secrecy if that’s even a thing you could say.”
“You’ve got to be really careful not to get caught waiting on any one particular thing,” Hoyer said. “I’ve learned over the years that you’ve got to have a lot of lines in the water and you can’t assume anything is going to get done. Sometimes the dominoes fall as you think, but if you assume they’re going to fall that way, you can get yourself in a lot of trouble waiting so clearly we’re working on a ton of different stuff.”
“It’s hard to see in the future that well, you’re betting on human beings with bones and ligaments and all those different things, but certainly there’s times when a player has talent, it has to make sense to do that. So yeah, in theory, I love to keep a deal shorter. If you have to pay a little more per year, I think it makes some sense to do that to make your future that much more nimble. But there are times when it makes sense to do it.”