Report: Blue Jays scouting director leaves for Pirates front office

Toronto-Blue-Jays-general-manager-Ross-Atkins

Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins. (Chris Young/CP)

Toronto Blue Jays scouting director Steve Sanders is reportedly taking a new position in the front office of the Pittsburgh Pirates, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

While losing Sanders leaves a hole in Toronto’s amateur scouting, as noted by Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi, Blue Jays’ policy is to not stand in the way of a significant promotion for their staff.

Sanders will join former Blue Jays vice president of baseball operations Ben Cherington, who is now the Pirates’ general manager. Passan reported that Sanders ran the past three drafts for Toronto, which has yielded two top-70 MLB prospects as ranked by MLB Pipeline.

The Blue Jays, who finished 67-95 last season, have the fifth-overall selection in the 2020 draft in June.

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