Jays pitcher debunks sushi party rumour spun out of Shohei Ohtani gossip

Toronto Blue Jays’ Yusei Kikuchi cleared gossip of a 50 plus person sushi party on Friday that fuelled rampant rumours of Shohei Ohtani signing with Toronto last week.

“I wanted to make it clear that I did not have a sushi party last Friday,” Yusei posted on Instagram on Friday.

Kikuchi's clarification follows a tweet posted by Toronto opera singer, Clarence Frazer, on Friday that claimed the pitcher had made a reservation at a downtown sushi restaurant for upwards of 50 people, adding fuel to the fire of Ohtani speculation running wild.

“Make of it what you will…” he wrote in the Dec. 8 post, garnering more than 3 million views.

Fans had already been tracking a Toronto-bound private jet rumoured to have the player on it. However, it would turn out that the jet actually belonged to Shark Tank and Dragons' Den investor Robert Herjavec, who was met by a group of press at Pearson Airport.

Poking fun at the deflated rumour, Yusei’s post went on to say, “I can eat sushi for 50+ people, but I certainly never had a sushi party with 50+ people!”

Jays fans were heartbroken by the final news of Ohtani signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.