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For a moment, it seemed as if the Toronto Blue Jays were landing Shohei Ohtani. Reports began flying in that a signing was "imminent" and that the Jays were getting him. At one point, there was a plane leaving from California to Toronto, and fans thought the two-way superstar was on it.
That wasn't true, though, as Ohtani was never signing with Toronto. The two-way superstar opted to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers and left the Blue Jays scrambling for other options.
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That other option appears to be Isiah Kiner-Falefa, a former New York Yankees utility defender who had a lot of interest. The move is for depth and versatility, but one MLB podcaster noticed something.
Kiner-Falefa, known as IKF, pitched a couple of times in blowouts for the Yankees last year. He technically played both ways like Ohtani, albeit at a much lower level and much more infrequently.
In this case, the joke was right there, as Eric Hubbs said on X:
“The two way guy they’ve always wanted."
Hubbs, a Yankees fan, couldn't help but troll the AL East rivals.
Blue Jays land two-way player in Isiah Kiner-Falefa
Shohei Ohtani is just about the only true two-way player in a long time in baseball. Other sluggers, like Anthony Rizzo or Willians Astudillo, have taken the mound in blowouts to save arms. Some pitchers, like Madison Bumgarner, have hit well when they had to.
However, no one does it like the former Los Angeles Angels slugger, and that's what made him so valuable. So while the Toronto Blue Jays got someone who pitched and hit last year, they didn't get someone who does either at an elite level.
They wanted Ohtani, and they probably felt like they had a shot at landing him. Eventually, they didn't, though, and they'll have to settle for positional versatility and perhaps a random spot pitching appearance for IKF in 2023. They already had a good team but did want to add a superstar.
