In one reality, the Toronto Blue Jays landed superstar two-way player Shohei Ohtani this offseason on the largest contract in baseball history, beginning an era unlike anything else in team history.
In reality, the Jays are 58-66, last place in the American League East, and, like 28 other teams, they do not have the two-time AL MVP on their roster.
In a wide-ranging interview, Blue Jays starter Chris Bassitt discussed the team missing out on Shohei Ohtani this past offseason as he signed a mega-deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“The one thing I will say about the Blue Jays for this year. We put $700 million into Shohei Ohtani’s basket and didn’t get him. That was the reality, and I think we really didn’t have a pivot to, like, another elite player,” Bassitt said in an interview with Jomboy Media’s Chris Rose.
“In today’s baseball, you need three or four superstars. Look at the really good teams. They are not doing it with one superstar; they’re legit doing it with three or four superstars. That’s just the nature of this game now, the way that pitching is, the way that bullpens are set up: If you have one or two hitters in your lineup, you literally cannot be good, no matter how good the player is. I don’t think it’s possible.”
Bassitt was also asked about Vladimir Guerrero’s desire to stay in Toronto long-term, as he can hit free agency as soon as 2025.
“I don’t know. I don’t want to speak for him on this. I think Vladdy wants to be a Blue Jay for the rest of his career,” Bassitt said. “I don’t think he wants to leave, so I don’t think it’s like a super rush to get an extension done. They, obviously, didn’t trade him because they don’t ever see him or want him to be in another uniform. They’re okay to go to arbitration to know how much he’s going to make next year, but I think both sides want to be together.”
Bassitt, who joined the Blue Jays in 2023 on a three-year deal, was complimentary of his teammate’s second-half success this season.
“I have been around some really good players, and I have never seen anyone like Vlad,” Bassitt added. “Everyone talks about 2021 Vladdy and the number that he had; I didn’t see it really a lot last year, and then this year flipped, and the first month, I didn’t see the 2021 Vlad, and then all of a sudden there was just this light bulb that went off. To say mechanical changes, whatever he may have done, I was like, this is the best hitter on the planet.”
The full interview with Bassitt is available below.