Toronto Blue Jays president Paul Beeston was a guest on Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown on Sportsnet The Fan 590 Friday, where he discussed the club’s recent surge and the impact of a busy trade deadline.
Beeston is set to walk away from his role at the end of the season. With Alex Anthopoulos in the final year of his contract, the discussion centred around what the future holds for the general manager.
LISTEN: Paul Beeston on Prime Time Sports
Beeston was asked if he had the authority to offer Anthopoulos a contract extension.
“I would have to take that to somebody because that would be the right thing to do,” Beeston said. “In the past I would have been, but now I’m moving on. I wouldn’t worry about Alex. That will get taken care of in due course.”
Beeston said that he wouldn’t expect his successor to strip away Anthopoulos’ general manager duties because of the resume he’s built through his seven years with the club and the way he’s managed the organization from player development in the minor leagues to his work at the big league level. Beeston added that if Anthopoulos were to be a free agent then he would expect a great deal of interest in his services.
The Blue Jays have surged into first place in the American League East thanks to an 11-game winning streak. The club has suffered just one defeat since acquiring Troy Tulowitzki from the Colorado Rockies. In light of the acquisitions of high profile players like Tulowitzki and left-handed starter David Price, McCown asked Beeston if there was an urgency to go for it this season with himself on the way out and Anthopoulos’ future uncertain.
“No,” Beeston said. “Never. If Detroit hadn’t been struggling a little bit or if Cabrera hadn’t been hurt then I think there’s a strong chance Price wouldn’t have been available. But he was available and we had the pieces that could do it.
“Troy Tulowitzki, whether he wanted out of Colorado, he became available. We didn’t do anything to say ‘Ok, we’re all in this year because I’m leaving and we gotta win or because Alex’s job was in jeopardy.’ The fact of the matter is our job is to manage this for this year and for the future. Not just one. Both of them.
“Last year nothing came together and we got highly criticized for it, particularly Alex, and I didn’t think that was fair. This year it all came together and he [Anthopoulos] was able to do it. It wasn’t a matter of ‘Ok, let’s go for it this year.'”
The Blue Jays begin a pivotal series versus the New York Yankees Friday night. The Jays currently hold a 0.5 game lead on the Yankees for the division. Price takes the ball in Game 1.