And some aggressive general managing by Alex Anthopoulos who had been the
Blue Jays' general manager since 2009. He inherited Vernon Wells and his
awful contract, as well as a farm system full of future relievers, and
eventually turned it all into Toronto's first playoff appearance since
1993. He wasn't the perfect GM, but he eventually did what had to be
done to earn that postseason trip, giving up prospects when the team had
a clear shot in the present to do something besides flounder in the
middle of the division, as recounted by MLBTR.
MLBTR reports that Anthopoulos' aggressive trade syle did not sit well with the team's new President, Mark Shapiro. There is a report that Shapiro "scolded" Anthopoulos in their lone meeting before his
hiring for trading so many top prospects in 2015.
There is a lot to unpack from
that scolding. I agree with MLBTR that the idea of Shapiro berating someone on the right way to
build a winner may be tops on that list, as Shapiro ran the Indians as their
GM from 2001 through 2010, then became Cleveland's President. But Shapiro's
Indians made the playoffs three times in that entire stretch, and while
they never finished in last under those two, they did end the season in
fourth on five occasions and third in another five. Shapiro's track record is actually worse than Anthopoulos'.
You can't just
prospect hoard in order to win. The Cubs under Jim Hendry did that and failed because their prized prospects were not that good in the end. Instead of trading prospects at their peak potential for other players or other prospects, the Cubs languished in the middle hoping for free agents to make competitive teams. Anthopoulos recognized as much when the
opportunity to add came this summer -- you want to build with prospects,
but they exist to fill holes either by themselves or through trades
when they cannot.
Ownership usually demands a "win now" philosophy. Fans cannot tolerate passive front offices not trying hard to improve their clubs. Anthopoulos was an aggressive general manager who made a lot of player moves, churned rosters in order to find the best 25 man roster. He was willing to make mistakes in order complete this vision.
It appears his days as Toronto's GM are over. However, he will easily find a job in another organization.
