Dodgers rumors: Did Dave Roberts fumble any chance at landing Shohei Ohtani?

The Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes haven't had the pomp and circumstance as other top free agents in previous MLB offseasons. That's because Ohtani has wanted to keep his free agency negotiation period close to the vest, with reports indicating that he would hold it against teams if details of their meetings were to be leaked. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported that there's a belief Ohtani visited the Toronto Blue Jays' spring training facility on Monday. That was the first known details of Ohtani meeting with a team.

On Tuesday, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed that the team had met with Ohtani at their home stadium "a couple of days ago." Not only that, but Roberts said that signing Ohtani was the team's "top priority."

USA Today's Bob Nightengale noted that after meeting with reporters, Roberts met with Dodgers public relations officials after receiving a text message.

Dave Roberts may have gotten in trouble for revealing Dodgers meeting with Shohei Ohtani

“I would like to be honest, and so we met with Shohei," Roberts said, h/t Nightengale. “I don’t feel like lying is something that I do. I was asked a question, and to be forthright in this situation, we kept it quiet. But I think that it’s going to come out at some point that we met.

“So, I don't think myself or anyone in our organization would want to lie about it."

As mentioned earlier, Ohtani's camp would reportedly hold it against teams to reveal details of their meetings with the two-time American League MVP. Even when the Blue Jays news was released, there had to be thoughts creeping in that said, "Did they just lose out on Ohtani?"

Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes spoke with reporters on Tuesday after Roberts' conference and said that he was surprised the manager revealed the details of their meeting with Ohtani. Per Nightengale, Gomes didn't want to reveal anything else about their pursuit of Ohtani.

The Dodgers have long been linked to Ohtani. They are close to the Angels, plus give Ohtani the opportunity to contend for a World Series. Ultimately, the decision is up to the ace and slugger. As of now, there is no idea which team is the frontrunner to sign him and where he is leaning towards joining.

Other teams believed to be finalists for Ohtani, per Nightengale, are the Angels, Blue Jays, and San Francisco Giants.

Considering how elite a player Ohtani is, teams are trying their best not to leak any information. For Roberts, he says he made those comments because he wanted to be honest. We'll see if that will ultimately hurt the Dodgers.