After notably remaining mum about the entire process during MLB’s Winter Meetings last month, Ross Atkins, general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, has now provided some insight into the team’s unsuccessful pursuit of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani.

With “there’s no doubt in my mind” regarding Ohtani’s desire in joining the team, Atkins told reporters via Zoom on Wednesday that Ohtani did, in fact, fly to the Blue Jays spring training camp in Dunedin, Fla.

It was a tough phone conversation, and we were obviously sad with the result. Atkins ranked it as “one of the more difficult ones” of his career.

Along with that, we are incredibly proud of the fantastic process and the collaborative work that went into it. Not just that, but also the significance of the process, the role, and the organization to the community, nation, and world at large. Without a shadow of a doubt, he felt tremendously about the process, was incredibly drawn to this country, city, and team, but we proceeded.

The Los Angeles Dodgers were able to entice Ohtani with a record-breаking 10-year, $700 million contract.

However, the Blue Jays were in the middle of everything that went downhill before that deal was reached, including Atkins’s enigmatic Zoom press appearance on the opening day of the Winter Meetings, where he refused to reveаl his whereabоuts.

Since then, the Blue Jays have added utility player Isiah Kiner-Falefa and brought back Kevin Kiermaier in free agency.

On Wednesday, Atkins hinted that the club would upgrade its bats in preparation for the 2024 season. Matt Chapman, Whit Merrifield, Brandon Belt, Jordan Hicks, and Hyun Jin Ryu are among the former Blue Jays who have not yet signed free agent contracts.