Alex Anthopoulos has left the Blue Jays

[scotian1]

Alex Anthopoulos has left the Blue Jays. It will be interesting to see how this affects their free agent players.
 
 
http://news.nationalpost.com/sports/mlb/alex-anthopoulos-toronto-blue-jays-departure-a-failure-by-ownership-and-not-a-surprising-one

 

[scotian1]

The Sporting News has named Anthopoulos MLB Executive of the Year this afternoon. Great timing!
http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb-news/4659623-alex-anthopoulos-executive-of-year-blue-jays-sporting-news
 
Supposedly the Jays offered him a new 5 year deal but he declined as he would not have final say on player personnel.
Tim and Sid ‏@timandsid  · 4h4 hours ago 
The Blue Jays offered Alex Anthopoulos a 5-year deal that he chose to turn down. Reports are there… https://instagram.com/p/9bXObPCpOv/

 

[dynomite]

That sort of makes sense -- baseball teams need people to pitch the ball in addition to hitting it, and AA could never really get that part of the equation right.

For as good as the Donaldson trade was (and the rest of that lineup) trading Thor and D'Arnaud for RA Dickey was criminally negligent. Imagine if they'd gone into these playoffs with a top 3 of Price/Thor/Stroman?

 

[Mighty Joe Young]

Regardless of whether AA did a good job there is nothing to indicate the Jays didn't want AA back. But his job description changed when Shapiro was hired and he couldn't see himself as a de facto assistant GM.

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

Maybe the Red Sox could hire him as a groundskeeper . . . .

 

[Snoop Soxy Dogg]

Funny enough, I think the guy who's really getting screwed here is...Shapiro.
 
-AA did the "win-now" trades, he's leaving looking good, as an Executive of the Year and all that, leaving a potato that if not hot, is about to get hotter. Shapiro is the one who'll have to deal with the consequences of AA's trades;
-The team is a little bit older; farm system is weaker
-Price is leaving, and Shapiro may have to give a terrible FA deal to some other pitcher to replace him
-The fans will hate him because he's the nasty American who "pushed out" the much-loved, Canadian, Executive of the year
-Now that they've tasted victory, the fans will no longer be satisfied with any less than what AA did - winning the AL East/making the playoffs, maybe even the World Series. This ain't Cleveland no more..(welcome to "world series or bust" world, Toronto fans)
-If AA's Lieutenants follow him out, Shapiro pretty much has to rebuild a front office
 
Ugh. Not a good way to start his tenure there. If I'm him, I bump up Lacava (Assistant GM) to GM, keep everybody like DD did here and increase their salaries.
 
Man, DD really did luck out.

 

[soxhop411]

SO where dose he go? no GM jobs open

 

[P'tucket rhymes with...]

Funny enough, I think the guy who's really getting screwed here is...Shapiro.
 
-AA did the "win-now" trades, he's leaving looking good, as an Executive of the Year and all that, leaving a potato that if not hot, is about to get hotter. Shapiro is the one who'll have to deal with the consequences of AA's trades;
-The team is a little bit older; farm system is weaker
-Price is leaving, and Shapiro may have to give a terrible FA deal to some other pitcher to replace him
-The fans will hate him because he's the nasty American who "pushed out" the much-loved, Canadian, Executive of the year
-Now that they've tasted victory, the fans will no longer be satisfied with any less than what AA did - winning the AL East/making the playoffs, maybe even the World Series. This ain't Cleveland no more..(welcome to "world series or bust" world, Toronto fans)
-If AA's Lieutenants follow him out, Shapiro pretty much has to rebuild a front office
 
Ugh. Not a good way to start his tenure there. If I'm him, I bump up Lacava (Assistant GM) to GM, keep everybody like DD did here and increase their salaries.
 
Man, DD really did luck out.

It's awful that no one told Shapiro about any of this before he took the job. Devious Canadians!

 

[Mighty Joe Young]

SO where dose he go? no GM jobs open

Marlins just canned their GM ..
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2015/10/29/marlins-fire-dan-jennings-general-manager/74832264/

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

Marlins just canned their GM ..
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2015/10/29/marlins-fire-dan-jennings-general-manager/74832264/

 
Considering he's walking away from the Jays due to a loss of autonomy (perceived or real), AA is not about to sign up to work for Jeffrey Loria.  Even setting Loria aside, the Marlins just signed a manager to a four-year deal. A guy who didn't want to cede decision-making power at his old job is going to want a job where he can't choose his own field manager, I would think.

 

[Mighty Joe Young]

Considering he's walking away from the Jays due to a loss of autonomy (perceived or real), AA is not about to sign up to work for Jeffrey Loria.  Even setting Loria aside, the Marlins just signed a manager to a four-year deal. A guy who didn't want to cede decision-making power at his old job is going to want a job where he can't choose his own field manager, I would think.

I just came back in to say the exact same thing .. One would think Loria would be the last guy you'd want to work for when it comes to control.

And as an ex member of the Expos front office and a native Montrealer one assumes he would have less than kind feelings for the carpetbagger.

 

[Fred not Lynn]

Maybe it's a little too early in the process, but the Montreal expansion/relocation talk could benefit from being associated with high profile name like AA's. Not sure just what role I just described, but to be "the guy who brought baseball back to Montreal" would be pretty big career highlight...

 

[Snoop Soxy Dogg]

It's awful that no one told Shapiro about any of this before he took the job. Devious Canadians!

I doubt his masterplan included getting rid of his popular GM. But hey, maybe he knew this would happen and has it all planned out.

 

[santadevil]

I'm sure this helped too.
 
https://twitter.com/rwesthead/status/659697223287074816
 
I had heard it was more like, ripped him a new asshole, but whatever. I'm sure AA didn't leave that meeting with a good taste in his mouth.

 

[santadevil]

That sort of makes sense -- baseball teams need people to pitch the ball in addition to hitting it, and AA could never really get that part of the equation right.

For as good as the Donaldson trade was (and the rest of that lineup) trading Thor and D'Arnaud for RA Dickey was criminally negligent. Imagine if they'd gone into these playoffs with a top 3 of Price/Thor/Stroman?

 
I think that's a bit harsh.
There have been so many cases of prospects busting.
Syndergaard had just finished playing A ball the year he was traded. d'Arnaud was at least in AAA for the last half of that season, but you still never know.
 
Dickey was coming off a CY Young season and the Jays were trying to show other players they were willing to spend.
It might end up being a really shitty deal for the Jays, but there was no 100% way to tell at the time of the trade.

 

[OzSox]

Marlins just canned their GM ..
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2015/10/29/marlins-fire-dan-jennings-general-manager/74832264/

 
But there is no opening because President of Baseball Operations Michael Hill will assume full GM responsibilities. And even if there was an opening, it would be as a faux GM under Hill. 

 

[JimD]

Anthopolous, like Cherington, doesn't need to rush out and grab the first job available.  He will be in demand for any future GM openings.

 

[trekfan55]

Maybe the Red Sox could hire him as a groundskeeper . . . .

 
You owe me a new keyboard.

 

[Papelbon's Poutine]

 
I think that's a bit harsh.
There have been so many cases of prospects busting.
Syndergaard had just finished playing A ball the year he was traded. d'Arnaud was at least in AAA for the last half of that season, but you still never know.
 
Dickey was coming off a CY Young season and the Jays were trying to show other players they were willing to spend.
It might end up being a really shitty deal for the Jays, but there was no 100% way to tell at the time of the trade.

 
d'Arnaud also couldn't stay on the field before the trade and has shown little ability to do so since. He was healthy last year but was replacement level. He played better this year, but only for 67 games. I don't see any issue moving him. Thor has hurt, obviously, but as you said, he was still pretty young at that point. You have to trade something to get something. 

 

[Mighty Joe Young]

d'Arnaud also couldn't stay on the field before the trade and has shown little ability to do so since. He was healthy last year but was replacement level. He played better this year, but only for 67 games. I don't see any issue moving him. Thor has hurt, obviously, but as you said, he was still pretty young at that point. You have to trade something to get something.

The problem wasn't necessarily what they traded but what they received in return for all that prospect capital. An old knuckleball pitcher, coming off a career year in a pitcher' s park in a pitcher's division in a non DH league. Mentally you could easily add a run and a half to Dickey's projected ERA .. Not even accounting for the flakiness of a knuckleball pitchers projections .. And they had to resign him IIRC.

 

[santadevil]

The problem wasn't necessarily what they traded but what they received in return for all that prospect capital. An old knuckleball pitcher, coming off a career year in a pitcher' s park in a pitcher's division in a non DH league. Mentally you could easily add a run and a half to Dickey's projected ERA .. Not even accounting for the flakiness of a knuckleball pitchers projections .. And they had to resign him IIRC.

Correct about the resign too.
4/48 I believe.

 

[crystalline]

The problem wasn't necessarily what they traded but what they received in return for all that prospect capital. An old knuckleball pitcher, coming off a career year in a pitcher' s park in a pitcher's division in a non DH league. Mentally you could easily add a run and a half to Dickey's projected ERA .. Not even accounting for the flakiness of a knuckleball pitchers projections .. And they had to resign him IIRC.

?? The guy's had a 100 ERA+ for the past three years while pitching over 200 innings each year. That is a valuable pitcher, if not Cy Young level.

If Dickey had been below replacement value, or even good but frequently injured it might be fair to call it a bad trade. But as is, I think this is a solid trade for a GMs resume, both a priori and a posteriori. Toronto's gotten a lot of value from Dickey over the past few years.

Edit: well, "solid" is probably too strong. But Dickey wasn't a bust.

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

Correct about the resign too.
4/48 I believe.

 
Not even.  They picked up his 2013 option ($5M) and signed him to a 2/24 extension with a 3rd year option for another $12M.
 
So they've paid $29M so far and he's posted 6.8 bWAR and 5.5 fWAR in that time.  Dickey's been a bargain for them.

 

[Spacemans Bong]

I am shocked that AA doesn't necessarily respect the bag man for one of baseball's truly sad sack franchises. What's Shapiro going to use in his past to assert authority? His ability to win one division title AND make a wild card game? Give me a break.

 

[santadevil]

I am shocked that AA doesn't necessarily respect the bag man for one of baseball's truly sad sack franchises. What's Shapiro going to use in his past to assert authority? His ability to win one division title AND make a wild card game? Give me a break.

Well, he was in Moneyball, the movie. Portrayed at least.

 

[Robbie Rayzor]

Well, he was in Moneyball, the movie. Portrayed at least.

As the idiot know-nothing that let Jonah Hill leave the organization. What a fucking legacy.