SAN DIEGO – Toronto Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos doesn’t expect the renewed uncertainty about Paul Beeston’s future to have any impact on his attempts to upgrade the team.
ESPN’s Buster Olney reported Sunday that the club was actively searching for a new president and CEO and Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports later added that Baltimore Orioles general manager Dan Duquette wants to pursue the job but that O’s owner Peter Angelos was opposed to the move.
Duquette declined comment when approached by Sportsnet in the lobby of the Manchester Grand Hyatt, site of the winter meetings, but Angelos told Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com that "we’re not relinquishing him, period."
Multiple reports said Chicago White Sox executive vice-president Ken Williams was denied permission to speak with the Blue Jays about the job, and he told reporters "that ship has sailed." Twins GM Terry Ryan’s name was also floated as a possibility.
Anthopoulos declined comment on the entire situation, but when asked if the speculation might cause free agents to think twice about joining the Blue Jays, he immediately replied, "No."
"In this industry no matter what, there’s always change," said Anthopoulos. "I don’t think it has any impact at all. Even in years past, I don’t know if there’s ever been a time, even as an AGM when J.P. (Ricciardi) was here, and Paul Godfrey was here, I can’t speak for when Interbrew owned the team, but I don’t remember ever hearing any question (about that). Ultimately, when players sign here, they’re looking at the team, the roster, things like that. I don’t think they’re that concerned with who’s working in the offices."
The latest news about the club’s president and CEO search comes about a month after Sportsnet reported that Beeston, whose contract expired Oct. 31, would remain in the job for the foreseeable future. The expectation was that Beeston would stay on through the 2015 season as part of a graceful exit, while a search was conducted for his successor.
Beeston’s future has been unclear since the summer, when the Blue Jays first started reaching out to other candidates. The search was eventually shelved and Beeston allowed to remain in the post indefinitely, during which time he assisted in the courtship of free agent Russ Martin and communicated with ownership leading up to the trade for Josh Donaldson.
Olney reported that Blue Jays’ ownership "was not pleased some of Beeston’s action’s during the search for a replacement for commissioner Bud Selig."
Beeston backed the unsuccessful bid of Tim Brosnan, Major League Baseball’s executive vice-president, business in opposition of eventual successor Rob Manfred. MLB announced this week that Brosnan will leave his post at the end of January.
"We won’t comment on rumours and speculation," said Blue Jays spokesman Jay Stenhouse.
Anthopoulos will need to push the frenzy aside this week in San Diego, and was more forthcoming in shooting down speculation that the Blue Jays "loved" free agent closer David Robertson and were in on other players.
"At this point we’re not close to anything," he said. "I know we’re linked to everybody, I’ve read that we, quote, love certain players. We don’t love anybody. I love my wife and my kids. We don’t have any offers out to anyone, normally I don’t divulge that, but there’s just so much misinformation."
As for next steps, Anthopoulos said he was largely satisfied with his core of position players, and again pointed to the bullpen as his primary target area now. How they try to improve their relief corps, by signing an established closer or by spreading their resources around, is up in the air.
"Those are some of the discussions we’re having internally," he explained. "Do we go with multiple mid-level guys, do we go for one larger guy, do we just forgo free agency altogether and just try to work on some trades? Then you’re trying to weigh giving up young talent, which ideally you don’t want to do."
