JANUARY 12: The Dodgers have announced Anthopoulos’s hiring as vice president of baseball operations.
JANUARY 5: Former Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos, whose resignation at season’s end shocked many in the baseball world, will join the Dodgers’ front office and work alongside GM Farhan Zaidi, according to multiple reports, including one from Vince Cauchon of Radio X in Quebec, who was the first to report the hiring earlier today (via Twitter). Cauchon seems to imply that a deal is in place, and Jon Heyman tweets that an agreement is being finalized. All told, it seems likely that the team will announce the hire in the near future. Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times writes the move is “expected” to be completed soon, though no specific role has been determined at this point.
The 38-year-old Anthopoulos will become the sixth member of the Dodgers’ front office that is either a current or former GM, joining president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, Zaidi, senior vice president Josh Byrnes, senior advisor Ned Colletti and special advisor Gerry Hunsicker. Byrnes has previously served as the GM of the Padres and D-backs, while Colletti was the Dodgers’ GM before the current regime inherited baseball operations autonomy. Hunsicker spent roughly a decade as the Astros’ GM.
Anthopoulos was named the Sporting News’ executive of the year in 2015 on the heels of a number of high-profile trades that culminated in a division title and ALCS run for the Blue Jays, snapping a 22-year playoff drought in Toronto. The acquisitions of Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki and David Price stand out as perhaps the most memorable trades, but Anthopoulos also acquired LaTroy Hawkins, Mark Lowe and Ben Revere in addition to signing Russell Martin to a five-year contract in the offseason. However, with CEO Paul Beeston set to retire in Toronto, ownership sought a replacement and reportedly offered former Indians GM/president Mark Shapiro final say in baseball operations decisions as a means of luring him to Toronto. That promise is said to have led to Anthopoulos’ resignation, despite the fact that he was offered an extension prior to his departure.
Anthopoulos will add to a growing collection of well-respected baseball minds working to shape the Dodgers, though his specific role remains unclear, as does the number of teams that expressed interest in hiring him. Anthopoulos told the Canadian Press last month that he’d received interest from a variety of teams and media outlets and was expecting to take a job with a team in January. One report even mentioned that the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes had interest in bringing Anthopoulos on board in their front office. That would’ve made him the second notable baseball executive to change sports this month — Paul DePodesta reportedly is leaving the Mets to join the Cleveland Browns’ front office (as explained on MLBTR and on Pro Football Rumors earlier today) — but it seems that Anthopoulos will instead remain in the game with which he has been involved since 2000.
All the GMs!!!!
So in addition to Friedman, who are the other GMs Anthopoulos will be joining?
Colletti, Anthropoulos, Byrnes, and Zaidi.
Ah thanks
There comes a point when too many cooks spoil the broth
Exactly, And they are apparently hiring him without a job title.
VP means something lol.
He’s in charge of the Department of Redundancy Department.
The “College of Coaches” of the 1960’s Cubs is upgraded to the University of Managers on the Dodgers. That is a lot of high priced gentleman to fill out their think tank. Kasten and Friedman will have to work harder to keep all the egos in check and keep them out of each others way. Now if they would only spend a little of the front office salaries on a secondbaseman or relief pitcher, they might get to the playoffs
I’m comfortable with Kike as the primary second baseman/dominant half of a platoon.
Well……They signed Utley. A “Seasoned Veteran”……………………Why? I have NO idea……LOL
I don’t care that they let Greinke leave (for over $200 mil)…….I get that. I think it was a good move on their part.
I like that they balked at Iwakuma because of health concerns…..good move probably
– But not bringing back Kendrick is puzzling (as is the Utley signing)
– Giving Brett Anderson a QO is puzzling
– Alex Guerrero’s lack of playing time is puzzling when he can mash a baseball I believe that they have destroyed his loyalty to the team, and negatively affected his attitude (and ability to focus on playing) by the way they have treated him. He walks around on eggshells, not knowing what they’ll do, or not do, next. He needs a new team, but they won’t trade him…….Why? “He has too much talent to give up on him” they say. THEN PLAY HIM!!! I think Mattingly didn’t like him…..we’ll soon see, because Justin Turner may not be ready for Opening Day, they say.
Alex……..You Have Work To Do Here.! Please Do Something………
They can’t trade Guerrero because of his contract
They can trade Guerrero, but his contract will expire at the end of the year he is traded, which isn’t such a big deal now that his contract sunsets in 2017. The problem is he isn’t convincing at the plate and doesn’t have much value as a position player.
Exactly. He can hit a long ball, and it’s pretty when he goes on a tear. But he struggles to get on base and has negative value in the field. He just can’t be hidden anywhere effectively.
Anywya, kbarr888, that answers one of your questions. Regarding the others? Brett Anderson is a good buy for one year – many, many teams would take him on that contract, on the back of last season. 15mil does not buy what it used to.
Utley was signed to be the left-hand of a platoon with Kike (and some backup at third, where Justin Turner is not going to play 162 games),. Kike is desperate for a position to play in the field. His bat and glove are very good – why sign Howie for however long/however much, when they’ve got a hugely cheaper option in house without the commitment? Plus Austrin Barnes not far away from a callup.
Re: Guerrero – it’s not that Mattingly didn’t like him (and I am not defending Mattingly out of blind love – I’m glad he’s gone) – it’s that Mattingly had nowhere to play him. Even in left field he was a disaster. Guerrero could not be hidden anywhere.
Agreed. Well said.
With all the money, the player talent, the lordship over the Cuban market and the front office talent, if the Dodgers don’t win a world series within the next five years I think it can be said that it would be one of the biggest disappointments in MLB history for an organization.
Too many cooks in the kitchen???
I sincerely doubt it. These guys are professionals, not managers of a Taco Bell. They’ve all been AGM or better—I’m sure each guy knows his place.
Sure none of them has an ego, they all know their place…at the top.
Trade the farm!!!!
AA had to move on, he had traded away all of Toronto’s prospects and needed a new bunch.
Is having more GMs than starting pitchers a good thing?
Kershaw, Maeda, Kazmir, Wood, Anderson, Ryu, Bolsinger, and younger guys like Urias, Montas, and De Leon. How many teams have a deeper rotation than that?
That’s an easy one. The Mets.
You have no idea what Maeda will do, look at the Asian pitchers of the past, Anderson has a injury history, Bolsinger is a Diamondback castoff, Kazmir has one decent year in his recent past and “young guys” (???) – I can think of many better rotations. But go ahead, drink kool aid.
You have no idea what Wheeler will do, look at the Tommy John pitchers of the past, Harvey has a injury history, Syndergaard is a Blue Jay castoff, Matz has one decent year in his recent past and “young guys” (???) – I can think of many better rotations. But go ahead, drink kool aid.
Your points on the other pitchers are fair enough (sort of), but calling Syndergaard a ‘Blue Jay castoff’ (and saying it as a negative) is laughable. He was traded along with d’Arnaud for a guy coming off a Cy Young, and even then, everyone in baseball viewed it as a heist for the Mets at the time. And they still do.
Also, a better point against Matz would be that he spent a good deal of 2015 injured and only has made 6 MLB starts.
Further, ‘look[ing] at the Tommy John pitchers of the past’ actually yields pretty decent results. Look no further than his teammate Matt Harvey.
By all means, list the ‘many’ better rotations than the Mets.
Sorry if it wasn’t 100% clear, but I was mostly joking. I was just trying to say that you could say some of that vague stuff about any rotation in the MLB
And none of Urias, De Leon or Montes are likely to be promoted in 2016, and the latter looks more like a reliever than a starter at this point.
Lol dumb dumb
So basically during the next major GM search expect the Dodgers front office to receive a lot of interview requests.
hope he passes the physical
With this FO, fogging a mirror should be enough.
What has aa ever done? Traded, traded, traded. Failed, failed, failed, then finally his bats get hot and they go to the alcs. What a genius. Theres a reason ownership gave someone else control. And it wasnt because mark shapiro was so in demand that they had to promise him control of baseball ops.
By 2013, not long after taking over a middling team with a terrible farm system, that hadn’t made the playoffs in nearly 20 years, he had built a team that was the Las Vegas favorite to win the World Series heading into that season and had one of the strongest farms in baseball. I’d say that’s pretty solid work. The players have to shoulder a lot of the blame for the team’s underperformance in ’13 and ’14, not the GM.
Hes not that good
What has aa ever done? Trade, trade, waiver claim, waiver claim, trade. Fail. Fail. Fail. Hit on a 3rd baseman. Oh and shapiro was in such high demand he got last call in baseball ops. Hes nothing special. Had the narrative to be but couldnt do it. If you dont know baseball you wont succeed.
The front office payroll is going to be bigger than some small market teams whole baseball team payroll eg Tampa Bay Rays lol somebody who has all the info on Tampas payroll and the Dodgers front office payroll only … Please let me know .. N I believe a lot of us would be interested of the comparison!!!! Thx
What’s he going to do? Trade Urias for Strasburg?
I don’t think that would meet the asking price for Strasburg.
Strasburg is set to become a FA after the season so I doubt they’d trade Urias for one guaranteed season of Stras
The best GM in the history of the Jays. This team will be a dynasty.
He had two successful months at the end of last season.
Let’s not forget that Pat Gillick brought them back to back WS titles with that powerhouse team of the late 80’s-early 90’s, and they hadn’t been back to the playoffs since he left.
I had him going to the Montreal Expos as their first employee. Oh well, maybe next year?
Front Office Depth > Rotation Depth
(Not saying their rotation is bad, but every pitcher not named Kershaw has question marks. Then again, every team in baseball has question marks)
Finally, the dodgers have a notable offseason signing
1 to 4.
Ratio of current/former GMs to PLAYERS on the roster!
Forget ANY gut feel decisions. Expect drawn out decisions with snails pace. This is a sport that is about more than numbers. The Dodgers are going too far into making this into a braintrust of minds.
What has aa ever done? Trade, waiver claimx10. if he was so good why did they need shapiro? And he was so sought after that he got final say in baseball ops? Right. AA had the chance to be a nice story. Look at that team now. Wait and see in a couple more years too.
Well he is fresh off some cowboy style guns blazing moves for the Blue Jays, maybe he’ll go in there and ask these guys where there balls went and push them to make some splashy moves
What has aa ever done? Gm of a team that got hot. Cute story nothing more
Traded for Josh Donaldson, signed Jose Bautista to laughablely friendly contract, signed Edwin Encarnacion to laughably friendly contract, traded Vernon Well’s albatatross contract.
I remind you, Josh Donaldson is a Blue Jay.
His team got hot. He got donaldson. His pitching always sucked. He signed a couple of dfas that blossomed. Not a baseball guy
You’re doing violence to the legacy of Dan Quisenberry with ridiculous comments like these.
What part is wrong?
Maybe the part where you repeat all of your bs multiple times in the same thread?
I didn’t love AA but to say he did nothing is more than a stretch.
The Blue Jays headed into the 2013 season with a starting rotation of Dickey, Beurhle, Josh Johnson, Brandon Morrow, JA Happ, and Rickey Romero. While that season went completely sideways, that rotation at the time was outstanding. You can criticize how the players performed but the GM cannot look into the future. That rotation should have been as good and as deep as any in baseball at the time.
Exactly, there’s a reason they were favored to win the World Series by Vegas before that season: because AA had built a very strong team on paper, which is all he can do. It’s in the player’s hands after that.
Can he pitch????
They are gonna hire another pitching coach to get all the former GM’s into shape for there depth. AA with be the first front office personal to throw a NO NO.
People who are saying AA didn’t do much sure have short memories. He aquired Donaldson for not much, and even though they didn’t all pan out, he aquired highly sought after players like Rasmus, Brendan Morrow, Yunel Escobar, Reyes/Johnson/Buelre, and Dickey. They don’t all work out, but you can’t say he doesn’t aquire high end talent and take risks while other GMs play it safe.
I still think Alex overplayed his hand with the Jays. He resigned supposedly because he wasn’t going to have final say on the players, but now he joins the Dodgers with 23 other assistant GMs? He went from being a deity in Canada (I saw jerseys with his name on it) to being an assistant regional manager.
Rasmus wore out his welcome in st louis, dickey was old and was had for two highly regarded players. The return the marlins got looked better then and still does. Buerhle is ok but still a little overpaid. Reyes was always hurt and got a big deal for the stadium opening. And johnson flashed ace potential but had a bum arm. The marlins fleeced aa. Yunel escobar is a lockerroom cancer and brandon morrow cant stay healthy. Get off the aa koolaid. Hes nothing special
How can Buerhle still be overpaid when he makes $0 right now?
Assistant regional manager? Dont you mean….
Assistant “to” the regional manager or Assistant to the Assistant to the Regional Manager?
Its lower.
The Dickey trade will go down as one of the worst in franchise history. We traded two bkue chip prospects, both who are panning out, for a regressing inning eater.
Conversely, the Donaldson was fantastic and making it to the playoffs felt great but gutted out farm. Short term thinking js the reason for my short memory.
Agreed on the last part. I think it was an overreaction on his part and that if he had it to do over again, he would probably stay with Toronto and live with his new role and do the best he can in it..
Get excited, Dodger fans. Saint Alex A. is coming your way. Meaning, if you have any idea of how much his arse was kissed by both media & fan’s here in Toronto, nothing but World Series Championships are coming your team’s way.
It would be interesting to be fly on the wall during the dodgers front office meetings with all these guys sitting around, now including AA.
“Guys, look at all these prospects we can trade!”…
For overpriced often injured vets?
Anyone who has ever been in a conference room full of people who think they have the chops to run the whole company knows that this probably isn’t going to end well for the Dodgers.
Blue jays are so dumb for letting this guy though like he brought a winning team back to Toronto then they just let him go
Dumb Dumb. Also go to the Blue Jays just dumb move letting him go
They didn’t let him go, he chose to leave. He didn’t like not being the man anymore in Toronto, but apparently he’s chill with not being the man in L.A. Has to make you wonder what the point of him acting all noble was in the first place.