Bettors flocked to Jays ahead of Ohtani decision
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David Purdum, ESPN Staff Writer
For a few hours Friday afternoon, Shohei Ohtani was reportedly on a private jet to Toronto, and bettors at sportsbooks in the United States and Canada were rushing to bet on the Toronto Blue Jays to win the World Series.
It would turn out to be a bad beat.
On Friday, with rumors of Ohtani’s interest in Toronto swirling, the Blue Jays’ World Series odds improved from 15-1 to as short as 8-1, behind only the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers, and bets poured in on the Jays. At BetMGM sportsbooks, nearly 85% of the money wagered on the World Series odds on Friday was on Toronto, and the bet ticker at Caesars Sportsbook filled up with wagers on the Blue Jays ranging from $50 to $500.
“There were some pretty respected players that were betting the Blue Jays,” Eric Fenstermaker, Caesars’ lead baseball trader, said. “Then, the soap opera took a different path.”
Later Friday afternoon, it was revealed that Canadian entrepreneur Robert Herjavec of “Shark Tank” fame was on the private jet being tracked to Toronto, not Ohtani. The next day, Ohtani announced on social media that he was signing with the Dodgers, and the motivation behind the surge of bets on the Blue Jays was gone.
“Friday was a really crazy day,” said Randy Blum, a Las Vegas bookmanager who oversees baseball odds for the SuperBook.
Blum said media reports, including from MLB Network, prompted him to shorten the Blue Jays’ odds.
“These [reports] were from legitimate baseball guys, not random people on Twitter throwing things out there. … We had to respect it,” Blum said. “When it turned out not to be true, we cleaned it up.”
The excitement of potentially landing baseball’s biggest star got the best of bettors in Canada, too. PointsBet’s Canada sportsbook reported a “notable influx” of bets on the Blue Jays to win the World Series throughout Friday. Some of the bettors who backed Toronto on Friday cashed out at a loss on Saturday after Ohtani’s announcement, a representative for PointsBet Canada told ESPN.
“The Ohtani to Toronto rumors had already been taken into account by the books, so the betting action was really driven by the full-blown excitement versus the opportunity to win some cash down the road,” Patrick Eichner, senior director of communications for PointsBet Canada, said.
Eventually, with Ohtani officially moving crosstown in Los Angeles, the betting public shifted its support to the Dodgers, who moved ahead of the Braves and are now the consensus World Series favorites at sportsbooks.
“Yesterday, after everything was official, we did take some bets on the Dodgers, even though we had already lowered their odds,” Blum said. “You just never know what you’re going to get.”
TORONTO — Cleveland Guardians star Jose Ramirez was back in the lineup for Sunday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays, two days after the third baseman left in the third inning because of a mild right ankle sprain.
The six-time All-Star was injured when he stumbled and fell while crossing first base on an infield single. Ramirez went down after being struck in the back by a throw from Blue Jays right-hander Chris Bassitt.
Ramirez was batting third Sunday against right-hander Bowden Francis.
Ramírez sat out Saturday when Cleveland beat Toronto 5-3. He went 2 for 2 before departing Friday, boosting his average to .274. He has five home runs and 15 RBIs in 31 games.
In last Thursday’s 4-3 victory over Minnesota, Ramirez became the first primary third baseman to reach 250 homers and 250 stolen bases.
The Miami Marlins activated catcher Nick Fortes from the 10-day injured list Sunday morning. To make room for him on the active roster, starting second baseman Otto Lopez was placed on the 10-day injured list.
Fortes, the Marlins’ Opening Day catcher, posted six hits in 20 at-bats with two doubles, one triple and one RBI in seven appearances before going on the IL on April 10 with an injured left oblique muscle. The 28-year-old missed 20 games as the Marlins went 7-13 without him. To prepare for Sunday’s return, he rehabbed for two games at Triple-A Jacksonville and went 0-for-6.
Fortes figures to split time with 23-year-old rookie catcher Agustin Ramirez, who has delivered a .256/.293/.615 slash line with three homers and five RBIs in 10 games during his first stint in the bigs.
The 26-year-old Lopez hits the injured list, retroactive to Saturday, with a sprained right ankle. Lopez started the season hot with a .400 average to go with two homers, six RBIs and one stolen base during five games in March. Since then, he has batted .191 (17-for-89) with no homers, five RBIs and two steals.
Rookie Javier Sanoja, 22, has filled Lopez’s spot at second base the last two games and provided two doubles, two runs and one RBI in seven at-bats.
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