Blue Jays gaining steam, Giants fading

The Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes are heating up, and there’s a new dark horse team in the mix.

The Blue Jays have surprisingly emerged as a top suitor for Ohtani’s services, according to The Post’s Jon Heyman.

After opening as a +2000 long shot to sign the Japanese superstar, Toronto is now +700, the fourth-best odds at DraftKings Sportsbook as of Thursday, to bring in Ohtani this winter.

Despite Toronto’s rise, the Dodgers remain the favorite to win the Ohtani lottery at +115 odds.

That’s a slight drop from early November, though, when Los Angeles was a -110 favorite to sign Ohtani.

The Giants, who had the second-best odds a month ago while preparing a “full-court press” for Ohtani, have seen the biggest drop, falling from +550 to +1100.

San Francisco was replaced by the Chicago Cubs, who are now the second-favorites at +350 odds, just ahead of the reigning World Series champion Texas Rangers, who are at +650.

It appears that the Angels’ chances of retaining Ohtani are falling as well.

The Halos are now +2000 to bring him back to Anaheim — down from +1500 in early November.

The Mets and Yankees, at least according to oddsmakers, still have an outside shot at Ohtani but their chances are waning.

The Amazin’s dropped from +700 to +900 and the Bronx Bombers fell from +750 to +1200 over the past month.

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In separate reports this week, ESPN’s Jeff Passan said the Mets and Yankees were not in the mix to sign Ohtani.

Passan wrote Friday that Ohtani’s free agency “could soon reach conclusion” with the Angels, Dodgers, Cubs and Blue Jays “still in the bidding.”

He added that the Giants could still be in the running, but it was unclear where they stood in the sweepstakes.