MLB’s executive of the year won’t have a GM job this off-season.
Alex Anthopoulos turned down a contract offer from the Blue Jays this week, abruptly ending a six-year run as GM that culminated in an AL East title and a playoff run to the American League Championship Series. Mark Shapiro takes over as Blue Jays president Monday, at which point he can formally begin the process of finding a replacement GM.
Suddenly the question of what to make of Anthopoulos’ tenure with the Blue Jays applies not only in Toronto, but to the rest of Major League Baseball.
His departure came as a surprise to many big league executives largely because his work was well-respected by his peers. Anthopoulos has no job lined up just yet, but presumably that will change once he’s ready for one.
If it hasn’t happened already, owners around MLB will soon start assessing the work of Anthopoulos. While there are no current GM openings outside of Toronto, Anthopoulos will immediately ascend to the top of the list of GM candidates and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him interview for jobs a year from now when new openings emerge.
Anthopoulos’s track record has blemishes, but if rival teams look closely, they’ll see a consistent pattern of getting the big moves right.
Anthopoulos combined young, homegrown pitching with a core of elite position players including Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Troy Tulowitzki and Russell Martin. The GM’s signature move may well turn out to be the trade for AL MVP frontrunner Josh Donaldson, who’s controllable through 2018.
Anthopoulos avoided bad contracts rigorously, spending carefully on the open market, especially with respect to pitching. The deal that sent Vernon Wells to Anaheim freed up $81 million in payroll for the Blue Jays, setting up future additions.
When he did spend big it usually worked. Extensions for Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion locked in two elite sluggers at well-below-market prices. Martin’s five-year, $82-million contract solidified the Blue Jays up the middle on their way to a division title.
Some moves turned out much worse for the Blue Jays. Trading Yan Gomes for Esmil Rogers proved ill-advised, Toronto clearly lost the Mike Napoli-Frank Francisco swap, and Colby Rasmus and Yunel Escobar didn’t work out the way the Blue Jays hoped.
But Anthopoulos learned from mistakes, adjusted and ultimately built a winner. He said Monday that he feels he’s starting to hit his stride as a big-league GM.
“By design last off-season we really targeted a certain type of player,” he said. “We walked away from a lot of players that were talented and productive that didn’t fit what we were trying to do. I don’t know that as a GM I would have done that a few years earlier.
“I was probably so caught up on value, contractual status, salary, things like that. You learn from your mistakes.”
The Blue Jays’ division title required a strong base of talent and the moves that led to the team’s recent success weren’t just about 2015. Their young arms aren’t even arbitration eligible and core position players such as Donaldson, Tulowitzki and Martin are all under control through 2018 or beyond.
All told, Anthopoulos kept mistakes to a minimum in Toronto, getting big decisions right more often than not. As a result, his successor as Blue Jays GM will inherit a team light on bad contracts and full of talent.
NOTABLE MOVES UNDER ALEX ANTHOPOULOS
Worst Moves
Traded Yan Gomes and Mike Aviles to the Indians for Esmil Rogers
Traded Mike Napoli to the Rangers for Frank Francisco
Extended Ricky Romero for five years, $30.1 million
Retained John Farrell after Farrell expressed a desire to leave for Boston
Best Moves
Acquired Josh Donaldson from the Athletics for Brett Lawrie, Kendall Graveman, Sean Nolin and Franklin Barreto
Extended Jose Bautista for five years, $65 million
Extended Edwin Encarnacion for three years, $29 million
Traded Vernon Wells to the Angels, obtaining $81 million in salary relief
Debatable trades
Acquired Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson, Emilio Bonifacio, John Buck from the Marlins for Henderson Alvarez, Adeiny Hechavarria, Anthony Desclafani, Jake Marisnick Justin Nicolino, Yunel Escobar and Jeff Mathis
Acquired R.A. Dickey, Josh Thole and Mike Nickeas for Noah Syndergaard, Travis d’Arnaud, Wuilmer Becerra and John Buck
Notable draft picks
Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez, Kevin Pillar, Ryan Goins, Dalton Pompey, Noah Syndergaard, Daniel Norris, Sam Dyson, Anthony DeSclafani, Kendall Graveman, Jeff Hoffman
Notable international signings
Roberto Osuna, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Adeiny Hechavarria
To be determined
Acquired David Price for Daniel Norris, Matt Boyd, Jairo Labourt
Acquired Troy Tulowitzki and LaTroy Hawkins for Jose Reyes, Jeff Hoffman, Miguel Castro, Jesus Tinoco
Signed Russell Martin for five years, $82 million