MONDAY, 12:10am: Beeston will continue to serve as the Jays’ president through the 2015 season, sources tell Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun. Elliott also gets comments (a couple of them tongue-in-cheek) from a number of GMs and executives about the rumors, with some expressing skepticism and others speculating why Beeston could be leaving the job.
SUNDAY, 4:33pm: Twins GM Terry Ryan is high on the list of possible replacements for Beeston, reports Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Berardino’s source calls Ryan “a great name,” but is unsure if the Blue Jays have requested permission from the Twins to speak with Ryan about the position, which would be a promotion. A Blue Jay official tells Berardino he “would prefer Terry anytime” to the candidates that have surfaced to date.
4:10pm: Duquette appeared on MLB Network Radio (Twitter links/audio link) and told hosts Jim Bowden and Jim Duquette, “I’m with the Orioles. I’m here to represent the Orioles at the meetings. Other than that, I have nothing to add. I do have a contract and I’ve always honored my contract.”
3:35pm: Addressing the Duquette reports, Orioles owner Peter Angelos told reporters, including the Baltimore Sun’s Dan Connolly, “We are very pleased with his performance, and we expect him to satisfy his contract. We not only want him to, but we expect him to. We don’t want him to go away, and we don’t expect him to go away. And he’s given no indication he wants to go away. Suffice to say there is a contract that binds both parties to a four-year contract and binds Dan as the GM of the Orioles.”
2:13pm: Duquette has declined comment saying he will wait until tomorrow to speak at his previous scheduled news conference from the Winter Meetings, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.
1:11pm: Rosenthal tweets Duquette wants to become the Blue Jays’ president/CEO, with the blessing of some within the Baltimore organization, but owner Peter Angelos is standing in the way. Rosenthal adds (on Twitter) the Orioles could demand compensation for Duquette much the same way the Red Sox did when Theo Epstein left for the Cubs. Rosenthal also raises the question of how can Duquette give the Orioles his full and undivided attention when he wants to run the Blue Jays (Twitter link).
11:42am: When asked about his next step, Williams told Rosenthal (Twitter link) that he’s “focused on helping the White Sox win another championship.” However, when asked if he could resign from the White Sox, he said, “I’ve considered all options as anyone would given the set of circumstances” (link). Williams told Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune he was denied an opportunity to interview with the Blue Jays and the issue was “not new” and “that ship has sailed.”
11:00am: The White Sox are balking at giving permission to Williams to speak with the Blue Jays, according to Rosenthal (via Twitter). Williams, in turn, is considering resigning (link).
10:48am: Duquette is very highly valued by the O’s and is under contract for three more years, so it’s very unlikely they would let him go, according to Olney (via Twitter). The Blue Jays have also discussed White Sox executive vice president Kenny Williams for the role (link).
9:32am: Orioles GM Dan Duquette is a top candidate to become the next president of the Blue Jays, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). He adds that the move would be a promotion and it would be difficult for the O’s to stand in his way.
Duquette, 56, took over as the Orioles’ Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations in November of 2011 after an extended hiatus from baseball. Duquette served as the GM of the Red Sox for many years but had not been a part of a MLB front office since 2002 when he was let go by Boston. Since then, Duquette has helped turn the Orioles around as Baltimore has enjoyed three winning seasons, including playoff appearances in 2012 and 2014.
Toronto ownership is actively seeking a replacement for president and CEO Paul Beeston and sources tell Buster Olney of ESPN.com that their search has progressed to the point where it is identifying possible replacements and reaching out to other teams in cases where they need permission to talk. Olney says that Duquette has been discussed internally, which would indicate that the Blue Jays have yet to reach out to their AL East rivals for a greenlight.
Duquette’s contract with Baltimore is set to run through the 2018 season.
