Three days after his Shohei Ohtani plane report backfired, Jon Morosi tried to laugh about his gaffe when discussing right-handed pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto during an MLB Network segment.
The insider, who initially posted on X on Friday that Ohtani was “en route” to Toronto — when really Canadian entrepreneur Robert Herjavec was the person on the plane — as his free agency sweepstakes continued, was discussing interest that the Giants, Red Sox and Yankees have shown in Yamamoto as the Japanese ace starts visiting with MLB teams.
“I’m not sure exactly what mode of transportation the Yankees have taken to meet with Yamamoto,” Morosi said. “Plane, trains, automobiles. Not my area of expertise.
“I just do know that they are meeting [Monday].”
When Morosi first posted about the Ohtani flight, it seemed, at the time Friday, that the Blue Jays could emerge as the favorites to sign the two-way superstar.
Morosi reiterated that Ohtani still hadn’t signed a deal, but Ohtani had also visited Toronto’s spring training complex in Dunedin, Fla. earlier in the week — plus Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed they’d also hosted Ohtani, which, in a process defined by secrecy, could’ve hurt Los Angeles’ chances.
But a handful of other baseball reporters, including The Post’s Jon Heyman, countered Morosi by writing that Ohtani wasn’t on a plane and hadn’t left California.
Ohtani ended up signing a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers on Saturday, announcing his decision in an Instagram post and adding to a powerful lineup already featuring Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.
Yamamoto visited with the Giants on Sunday and the Yankees on Monday — in addition to having owner Steve Cohen and president of baseball operations David Stearns fly to Japan and visit him on behalf of the Mets before anyone else — as the pursuit begins for a 25-year-old who could command a $300 million contract.
It’s expected that the Dodgers, despite their splash with signing Ohtani, could make a push for Yamamoto to add to a mostly young and inexperienced rotation, too.
He finished the 2023 season with a 16-8 record and a 1.21 ERA with the Orix Buffaloes.
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