Conflicting Shohei Ohtani Toronto Flight Reports Send MLB Fans Into Frenzy

The superstar’s journey through free agency took another bizarre turn Friday afternoon.

Is two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, widely considered the most sought-after free agent in MLB history, on a plane to Toronto?

That question captivated the baseball world Friday afternoon, as a free-agency process as secretive as it is spellbinding took another turn. Fans were left to judge one insider's word against another after two contradictory reports.

At 4:01 p.m. ET, Jon Morosi of MLB Network tweeted that Ohtani was en route to Toronto. Just over one hour later, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported Ohtani was not in Toronto, on a flight to Toronto or anywhere other than his California home.

Sources: Shohei Ohtani is en route to Toronto today.

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

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 8, 2023

Shohei Ohtani is NOT in Toronto.
Ohtani is NOT on a flight to Toronto.
Ohtani is at home in Southern California.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 8, 2023

Since the advent of scoop journalism on social media, few standoffs have been as concrete or compelling as this one.

MLB fans weighed in:

my feet are sweating i swear to god pls dont let us get hurt https://t.co/zgNrZGrIbi

— Jordan Cicchelli 🤍 (@jordancicchelli) December 8, 2023

Telling my dad to go pick him up as we speak. https://t.co/INx8YccpBT

— Faizal Khamisa (@FaizalKhamisa) December 8, 2023

You are thrown in the gulag if you're wrong https://t.co/nYWSG4Z4yl

— KevinGohD (@KevinGohD) December 8, 2023

the shohei free agency circus this week https://t.co/7ahiBqsaNU pic.twitter.com/NWWUQSg0we

— kennedi landry (@kennlandry) December 8, 2023

Cuban is beside himself. Driving around downtown Dallas begging (thru texts) Ohtani's family for address to Shohei's home https://t.co/rbNY4uzW3Z

— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) December 8, 2023

My hopes and dreams: https://t.co/9iEPwJnMWE pic.twitter.com/43NoaavRKd

— cole kuiper (@cmkuiper) December 8, 2023

We can confirm that Shohei Ohtani is not in the Merriam-Webster Citation Archives. pic.twitter.com/1o65CgsT9G

— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) December 8, 2023

“hey mom tell us about twitter during ohtani watch” pic.twitter.com/mMrZGJTCm9

— maha (@mahaaaay) December 8, 2023

The Shohei Ohtani misinformation going around has made this a day for the books. pic.twitter.com/JupCsHEdwq

— Frankie Cartoscelli (@FCartoscelli3) December 8, 2023

Oscar Ohtani is getting off that plane, and frankly he's cooler than Shohei pic.twitter.com/1ufKPAyH3r

— Grant Brisbee (@GrantBrisbee) December 8, 2023