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Alex Anthopoulos

Braves’ President Alex Anthopoulos Says Payroll Will Increase In 2022

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Braves’ president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos, who recently added a World Series victory to his resume, spoke with members of the media today about what the club has planned between now and their upcoming title defense in 2022. When it comes to the budget, Anthopoulos said that it will go up next season, though the exact figure is still being finalized. (Twitter link from David O’Brien of The Athletic.)

It’s hardly surprising that ownership is going to invest some more money into the club, given that they surely saw increased revenues from ticket sales and television viewership during their triumphant march to becoming World Series champions. They began the 2021 season with a payroll over $131MM, the highest opening day figure in franchise history, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. In July, they acquired Jorge Soler, Eddie Rosario, Adam Duvall, Joc Pederson, Stephen Vogt and Richard Rodriguez, taking on about $15MM in salary and pushing their season-ending payroll to somewhere in the $145-150MM range. At the moment, their outlook for 2022 is just over $141MM, in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource, already fairly close to 2022’s final outlay. Therefore, their offseason strategy will depend upon exactly how much of increase the front office has to work with.

Anthopoulos himself acknowledged that it will be hard to keep all of the outfielders. (Twitter link from Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.) Soler, Pederson and Rosario are all heading into free agency today, leaving the club with a 2022 outfield of Duvall, Cristian Pache and Guillermo Heredia. Ronald Acuna will retake a spot as soon as he’s healthy but isn’t expected to be ready by opening day. There’s certainly room to add to that group, on paper, as long as there’s money available to do it.

Of course, there’s another area that the club surely wants to dedicate some resources to, and that’s bringing Freddie Freeman back into the fold. When it comes to the slugging first baseman, Anthopoulos said, per Burns, “We’ve made it clear we want him to stay. He wants to stay.” The mutual interest in reuniting is understandable, given that Freeman has been with the organization since they selected him in the second round of the 2007 draft and since has become the face of the franchise, but he’s also 32 years old, meaning this is going to be his best shot to land a huge deal in free agency. As much as he may want to return, he’ll also want to take advantage of his first and potentially only trip to the free agent market and can’t be expected to offer huge hometown discounts.

Freeman has been one of the most consistently-excellent hitters over the past decade or so. Since his 2013 breakout, he’s never had a wRC+ lower than 132 and never produced less than 3.3 fWAR, even including the shortened 2020 campaign. In 2021, he hit 31 home runs and slashed .300/.393/.503, good enough for a wRC+ of 135 and 4.5 fWAR. It’s hard to fathom him doing that in any other uniform at this point, but the Atlanta brass will surely have to put some cash on the barrelhead to keep it that way.

NL East Notes: Anthopoulos, Mets, Afterman, Nationals, Bones

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Alex Anthopoulos couldn’t celebrate the Braves’ World Series triumph with the rest of the organization last night, as the president of baseball operations had to watch from home after testing positive for COVID-19 on Saturday.  The diagnosis left Anthopoulos “surprised,” as he told Scott Miller of The New York Times, but fortunately, “I’m fully vaxxed, I don’t have any symptoms, I feel great….My family is fine.”  To avoid any distractions for the team, Anthopoulos told only manager Brian Snitker and team chairman Terry McGuirk about his diagnosis.

As unusual as the situation was, Anthopoulos got to celebrate with his wife and children, adding to the special moment.  The Braves have reached the postseason in each of Anthopoulos’ four seasons at the helm of the front office, and the 44-year-old has now captured his first championship after 10 total years as a general manager (counting his six years with the Blue Jays from 2010-15).

More from the NL East….

  • Yankees assistant general manager Jean Afterman declined a request from the Mets to interview about their front office vacancy last week, SNY’s Andy Martino reports (Twitter link).  Afterman has worked with the Yankees in the AGM role since 2001, and she received an additional promotion to senior VP in 2012.
  • The Nationals officially announced their 2022 coaching staff, including three previously-reported new hires (first base coach Eric Young Jr., third base coach Gary DiSarcina, hitting coach Darnell Coles) and one more newcomer in bullpen coach Ricky Bones.  Former bullpen coach Henry Blanco is staying on the Nats’ staff in the new role of catching/strategy coach.  This is Bones’ second time working with Washington’s organization, as he previously served as a pitching coach for the Class-A advanced team back in 2005.  Bones has been the Mets’ bullpen coach from 2012-21, with a brief stint as a minor league pitching coach in 2019.

Atlanta GM Alex Anthopoulos Discusses Deadline Moves

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In a chat with Mark Bowman of MLB.com, Atlanta’s general manager Alex Anthopoulos discussed the moves that he and his club made before this year’s trade deadline. In particular, they focus on the Adam Duvall trade and how, although the discussions with the Marlins and general manager Kim Ng had been going on for over a week, the final deal came together in the last 24 hours.

“We had been talking to them about Duvall for at least 10 days and it just wasn’t going anywhere,” Anthopoulos said. “That [late-night] call was a breakthrough conversation, but there would still have to be discussions the next day. Then finally around 12:30 or 1 o’clock, we got that deal done.” Presumably, it was during this late-night call that Anthopoulos put catcher Alex Jackson on the table, as he was the only other player involved in the deal. It is perhaps not a coincidence that, three weeks later, the club and catcher Travis d’Arnaud signed a two-year extension to make up for the subtracted depth at the position.

“After that call, it felt like this was going to happen… We wanted to talk about it internally, and [the Marlins] were going to do the same thing.” Bowman then goes on to detail the acquisitions of Eddie Rosario, Richard Rodriguez and, finally, Jorge Soler. As Bowman writes, “Around 3:30 p.m. ET, assistant general manager Jason Paré suggested the Braves call Kansas City one more time.”

These details give some insight into the collaborative nature of front offices and the different factors at play. As much as Alex Anthopoulos, or other GMs, might occasionally seem like rogue traders, a baseball front office is a multicellular organism that requires good rapport, within itself and to other clubs.

Of course, the other factor that is always present is the budget. Anthopoulos and his team got a midseason boost in that regard, as he told Bowman that Atlanta’s chairman Terry McGuirk offered an increase based on their good early-season revenues. “He basically gave me a large amount of money to work with. I was ecstatic. That’s a credit to those fans who came out and supported this club and put us in this position.”

Due to the ability to take on these contracts, the club upgraded their bullpen and totally remade their outfield, propelling them to a strong finish to the season. On the day of the deadline, July 31st, Atlanta was actually below .500, sitting on a record of 52-54, five games behind the Mets in the NL East. But from August 1st onwards, they went 36-19, leapfrogged the Mets, cruised to a fourth-consecutive division crown and now find themselves preparing for an NLDS matchup with the Brewers that begins on Friday.

Quick Hits: Rangers, Infield, Rays, Ozuna, Braves, Freeman

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Isiah Kiner-Falefa was so impressive in his Gold Glove winning season at the hot corner that the Rangers plan on bumping him further up the defensive hierarchy in 2021. He’ll be their starting shortstop, per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com, which means an open competition to fill his spot at third. Oddly enough, Elvis Andrus seemed to have the inside track on the job before being traded to the Texas Rangers today. Instead, his long-time double play partner Rougned Odor may be an option, or they could see a replacement from outside the organization. The Rangers prefer that youngsters like Josh Jung and Sherten Apostel spend more time in the minors, Landry notes.

  • Marcell Ozuna and Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos were all laughs today as they spoke to reporters, including the Athletic’s David O’Brien, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post, and Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Though the two sides certainly took their time to come together on a new contract, the deal itself was actually finished over the course of a single day. The Rays had made an offer to Ozuna, but after one season in Atlanta – a year Ozuna described as the best year of his career – the slugging outfielder told his representation at CAA Sports that he wanted to hear from the Braves. The takeaway here is that clarity, communication, and a little pressure exerted from the outside go a long way to helping two sides come together.
  • The jolly atmosphere included a playful reference to the future negotiation of Freddie Freeman’s extension, tweets Janes. Anthopoulos certainly didn’t seem all that worried about potentially losing their franchise first baseman, who is a free agent after the 2021 season. For his part, Freeman doesn’t seem particularly likely to test his options elsewhere. The 31-year-old was handed the keys to the franchise from the legendary Chipper Jones, and there’s little reason to doubt his plans to stay behind the wheel in Atlanta. Coming off an MVP season and three consecutive NL East division titles, the partnership clearly works. As with Ozuna, the Braves and Freeman could be as much as a conversation away from keeping the California native on the East Coast, a sentiment the Athletic’s David O’Brien has shared for some time.

Anthopoulos Discusses Acquiring Troy Tulowitzki In 2015

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In a recent radio appearance on Sportsnet 590 The Fan’s Lead Off show (audio link available, with geographic restrictions), current Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos discussed one of the signature moves from his tenure as the Blue Jays’ general manager — namely, the blockbuster trade that brought Troy Tulowitzki and LaTroy Hawkins from the Rockies to the Jays in July 2015, with Jose Reyes and three well-regarded pitching prospects going to Colorado.

Anthopoulos said initial talks with the Rockies began during the 2014-15 offseason, as “we had concerns with Jose Reyes’ defense at the end of 2014.”  Reyes was coming off a rough year of glovework, posting a minus -3.3 UZR/150 and minus-14 Defensive Runs Saved over 1243 2/3 innings as Toronto’s shortstop.  As per those two metrics, Reyes had been a subpar defender for multiple seasons, though Anthopoulos said the decline in the shortstop’s range was becoming a particular issue for the Jays.

By comparison, Tulowitzki was a much more accomplished defender, in the eyes of both the advanced metrics and in terms of hardware (two Gold Gloves and three Fielding Bible Awards between 2007-11).  The +4.2 UZR/150 and +2 DRS that Tulowitzki posted in 2015 made him a major upgrade over Reyes — as Anthopoulos noted, Tulowitzki didn’t make a single error as a Blue Jay during the 2015 regular season and postseason.

After a loss to the Phillies on July 28, 2015, the day of the Tulowitzki deal, Toronto had only a 50-51 record and sat eight games out of first place in the AL East.  Anthopoulos still felt confident that his club could break out, however: “We lost a ton of games just because we were not playing good defense, and all the pieces were there to have a great team.”

Anthopoulos cited Tulowitzki and Ben Revere (picked up in a less-heralded deadline day deal with the Phillies) as major elements to the defensive turnaround, and of course the Jays’ other headline-grabbing trade to land David Price from the Tigers also helped on the run-prevention front.  The rest was history — after that July 28 loss to Philadelphia, the Blue Jays went on a 43-18 tear over the rest of the regular season to clinch the team’s first AL East title and playoff berth since 1993.

“For me, the key was just shoring up the defense across the board,” Anthopoulos said.  “From Tulo, to getting Ben Revere in left and not having Chris Colabello and [Danny] Valencia on the corners in the outfield when [Jose] Bautista was out DHing.  Just becoming a better defensive club, that really made the whole team get to where we should have been the entire year, when you’re looking at runs scored [and] runs against.”

While things obviously worked out for Toronto, losing Reyes was no small issue to his former teammates.  “It’s not like the clubhouse was elated…we knew they would be jarred” Anthopoulos said, adding that Reyes’ “work ethic was fantastic” and that the shortstop was “so well-liked without our clubhouse.”

Still, some version of Reyes-for-Tulowitzki was a constant within the Jays’ talks with the Rockies, as Anthopoulos said “we were adamant that Reyes had to be part of the deal going back.”  Beyond the practical element of filling each team’s need at shortstop, including Reyes in the trade helped offset some of the added financial costs Toronto faced in taking on Tulowitzki’s contract.  Tulowitzki was owed a minimum of $98MM from 2016-20, while Reyes earned $48MM through the 2017 season — two seasons of salary and then a $4MM buyout of his $22MM club option for 2018.  As it happened, Reyes forfeited roughly $7.09MM of that salary due to a suspension under the domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy, and he was released by Colorado in June 2016.

For more on the Tulowitzki trade, Jeff Todd recently took a longer-term view of the transaction as part of MLBTR’s YouTube video series, making the case that it was something of a win-win deal for both the Blue Jays and Rockies, even though “both were left a little bit shy of what they really expected to get.”

Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos On Hamels, Third Base, Bullpen

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As part of the team’s “Opener At Home” special on Friday evening, Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos spent nearly 20 minutes chatting with broadcaster Chip Caray about the current state of baseball, the Braves’ roster and some of his offseason dealings (YouTube link).

First and foremost, the GM made clear that southpaw Cole Hamels, signed to a one-year, $18MM contract this winter but slowed by shoulder troubles, is now pain-free. “Under normal circumstances, he would’ve been going right now to get ready to start to prepare,” Anthopoulos said of the 36-year-old, implying that Hamels could’ve been embarking on a rehab assignment. Given that update, it seems reasonable to expect that Hamels will be a full strength if play is indeed able to resume this season.

Of course, that also have a domino effect on the rest of the pitching staff. Per Anthopoulos, two of Kyle Wright, Sean Newcomb and Felix Hernandez would’ve opened the season in the rotation. All three were throwing well in Spring Training, and a decision on those rotation spots was coming “down to the wire,” with the final couple of weeks set to prove pivotal in making that decision. Prior to the spring shutdown, here’s how each of the three had fared:

  • Hernandez: 13 2/3 IP, 13 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 14 K (1.98 ERA)
  • Wright: 13 1/3 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 15 K (2.03 ERA)
  • Newcomb: 9 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 2BB, 11 K (2.00 ERA)

A healthy Hamels would likely take one of the rotation spots for which that trio is vying, although depending on how a new schedule is constructed — frequent doubleheaders and fewer off-days have been oft-speculated upon — it’s possible that a sixth starter could be needed. At the very least, one would imagine that with expanded rosters early in the season, it’s possible there could be a place for all three.

Also discussed was the Braves’ third base battle: a competition known to be comprised of slugger Austin Riley and the versatile Johan Camargo. Neither player was going to fill the Josh Donaldson-sized void in the lineup, but both had their share of promise. Riley was a consensus top 100 prospect entering the 2019 season and had a strong debut before tailing off over the final few months. Camargo enjoyed an excellent season in 2018 before a step back last year. But while the debate had long centered around which of the two would make the Opening Day roster, Anthopoulos indicated that it was no longer an either-or-scenario:

Camargo and Riley were playing unbelievably well. We hadn’t made a decision yet. We had started to talk — the fact that with the minor league season scheduled to start on April 9, and we were going to start the 26th of March — we had started to talk about just carrying both. There was no reason, really, to leave them down in Florida. They both had been playing well enough to make the team. If it got to a point where we thought one of them needed to play each day, that would’ve been a conversation we could’ve had right when Gwinnett was going to open the season around [April 9], we could’ve sent a player down at that point.

It still seems likely that one of the two would’ve been tabbed for the lion’s share of playing time, but the fact that both were possibly in line for an Opening Day gig is of note. That’s particularly true given not only the likelihood of expanded rosters but also because it’s not yet certain just how (or if) the minor league season will be able to come together. With minor league play even more uncertain than big league play, it’s all the likelier that the Braves would carry both players on the roster to ensure they could get both could get in-game reps — even if it’s on less than an everyday basis.

Asked about his aggressive bullpen makeover — the Braves acquired Shane Greene, Chris Martin and Mark Melancon last July before re-signing Martin and Darren O’Day and signing Will Smith — Anthopoulos was candid about how his moves were shaped by his relievers’ struggles early in 2019.

I think a lot of it was just not having to live through the experience that we had in 2019. Obviously we had a great year — we won more games than we did in 2018, we had a great team — but our bullpen was up and down the entire year. … Having to give up a ton of young assets at the trade deadline is not something we want to have to go through again.

The Braves, Anthopoulos explained, had sought to make upgrades in the previous offseason but didn’t find deals to their liking either in free agency or on the trade market. But the poor first half and the postseason struggles — the GM pointed out that the Braves blew late leads in two of their first four NLDS losses prior to the Game 5 blowout — pushed the Braves to take an “aggressive” approach to the bullpen. Atlanta indeed spent a combined $56.25MM on Smith, Martin and O’Day this winter — plus the $14MM of the Melancon deal they took on at the deadline and a $6.25MM arbitration salary for Greene — in hopes of creating a deeper bullpen that could be called on to hold leads late in games but also in the middle innings.

Assuming the season is able to resume, the Braves will be considered clear postseason favorites, and the depth to which Anthopoulos makes frequent reference in his chat with Caray will be all the more vital if a condensed schedule is to be played. If nothing else, it’s a welcome distraction to hear a top-ranking executive talk about roster construction, offseason maneuverings and challenges/advantages that’ll be relevant the next time his team takes the field.

GM Trade History: Braves’ Alex Anthopoulos

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It’s not always fair to judge baseball operations leaders for free agent signings.  In many cases, the biggest contracts are negotiated to varying extents by ownership.  The same can hold true of major extensions.  It’s just tough to know from the outside.

There’s obviously involvement from above in trade scenarios as well.  But, when it comes to exchanging rights to some players for others, it stands to reason the role of the general manager is all the more clear.

In any event, for what it’s worth, it seemed an opportune moment to take a look back at the trade track records of some of the general managers around the game.  After covering the Diamondbacks’ Mike Hazen, former Astros GM Jeff Luhnow, the Brewers’ David Stearns, the Angels’ Billy Eppler, the Rockies’ Jeff Bridich, the White Sox’ Rick Hahn and the Tigers’ Al Avila, we’ll head to Atlanta to check in on the work of Alex Anthopoulos.

Toronto’s former GM, Anthopoulos took the reins for the Braves prior to the 2018 season, which came after the stunning lifetime ban for predecessor John Coppolella as a result of infractions on the amateur market. The Braves have since won back-to-back NL East titles under Anthopoulos, but how much has he helped the club’s cause with his trades? You be the judge (deals are in chronological order and exclude minor moves; full details at transaction link)…

2017-18 Offseason

2018 Season

2018-19 Offseason

2019 Season

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What do you think of the trades Anthopoulos has made since he got to Atlanta? (Poll link for app users)

Braves Extend Alex Anthopoulos, Brian Snitker

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The Braves announced Monday morning that they’ve promoted general manager Alex Anthopoulos to president of baseball operations and extended his contract through the 2024 season. The Atlanta organization also announced contract extensions for manager Brian Snitker and his entire coaching staff; they’ll now be in place through the 2021 season. Anthopoulos had previously bee under contract through the 2021 season, while Snitker was signed through 2020 with a club option for 2021.

“I am very pleased that Alex will be leading the Atlanta Braves’ baseball operations for years to come,” chairman Terry McGuirk said in the press release announcing the news. “Since he joined the organization, Alex has continued the winning tradition that Braves fans have come to expect.”

Alex Anthopoulos | Adam Hagy-USA TODAY Sports

The 42-year-old Anthopoulos has been the Braves’ head of baseball operations since Nov. 13, 2017, when he was hired following the ousting of GM John Coppolella. The former Blue Jays GM and Dodgers vice president of baseball operations wasted little time in orchestrating a complex, financially motivated swap with one of his former clubs; in December 2017, Anthopoulos traded Matt Kemp and the remainder of his contract to the Dodgers in exchange for Adrian Gonzalez, Brandon McCarthy, Charlie Culberson, Scott Kazmir and $4.5MM.

The remainder of the 2017-18 offseason was a quiet one for Anthopoulos, although his spring pickup of Anibal Sanchez proved to be one of the minor league signings in recent memory, as Sanchez completely revitalized his career as a key rotation piece for the division-winning Braves.

Since that first offseason at the helm, Anthopoulos has become considerably more active both in trade and free agency. The Braves, under Anthopoulos, have shied away from long-term deals for aging veterans but have been aggressive in short-term pacts, signing the likes of Josh Donaldson, Dallas Keuchel, Marcell Ozuna, Cole Hamels, Travis d’Arnaud and Chris Martin to one- and two-year deals. Lefty Will Smith is the only free agent under this regime to sign a deal of three years. Anthopoulos has been active at both trade deadlines under his watch as well, acquiring pitchers Kevin Gausman, Shane Greene, Mark Melancon, Darren O’Day and the aforementioned Martin in a series of July swaps.

The best moves the Braves have made under Anthopoulos were surely locking down a pair of their own core pieces, however. Ronald Acuna Jr.’s eight-year, $100MM contract and Ozzie Albies’ seven-year, $35MM contract are two of the most extreme examples of club-friendly deals throughout the sport. That pairing surrendered a stunning eight would-be free-agent seasons (four apiece), giving the Braves control over the majority of their prime years at well below-market rates. In the long run, both deals should provide exceptional levels of flexibility both in terms of actual payroll and luxury-tax obligations.

Anthopoulos’ track record isn’t spotless, of course. The Gausman acquisition paid dividends in 2018 but yielded disastrous results in 2019. It’s still rather surprising that he agreed to take on all of the $14MM owed to Melancon for the 2020 season in last July’s trade. And time will tell whether the decision to let Donaldson walk rather than match (or at least come close to matching) the Twins’ $92MM guarantee. All of that said, there’s little question that Anthopoulos has helped to maintain a strong farm system while supporting the big league roster with sensible, short-term additions. The Braves are in position to contend for a third straight division title in the NL East, and there’s little reason to think that won’t be the case for years to come, thanks to a controllable core centered around Acuna, Albies, Dansby Swanson, Mike Soroka and Max Fried.

Brian Snitker | Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Turning to the 64-year-old Snitker, he’s now locked in for what will be his fourth and fifth full years with the reins in Atlanta’s dugout. A Braves lifer who has spent a staggering 40-plus years in the organization in some capacity, Snitker served as a minor league coach, minor league manager, Major League bullpen coach and Major League third base coach before taking over as interim manager in 2016. This is the second short-term extension he’s signed since being hired as the club’s full-time skipper.

“Winning consecutive division titles illustrates the leadership and impact of Brian and his staff,” Anthopoulos said of the extension. “We are happy to know they will be leading the Braves through the 2021 season.”

Under Snitker’s leadership, the Braves have played at a 318-292 clip (.521) — including a 187-137 showing over the past two seasons. His 90-72 record in 2018 helped him to win National League Manager of the Year honors. However, the Braves have also yet to advance in a postseason series under Snitker. They were bounced by the Dodgers in the 2018 NLDS and by the Cardinals in the 2019 NLDS.

Also receiving contract extensions through the 2021 season Monday were catching coach Sal Fasano, pitching coach Rick Kranitz, bullpen coach Marty Reed, hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, third base coach Ron Washington, bench coach Walt Weiss, first base/outfield coach Eric Young Sr. and assistant hitting coach Jose Castro.

MLBPA Launches Investigation Of Comments From Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos

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9:50pm: Anthopoulos has issued a statement (via the Braves, on Twitter), saying: “In advance of the General Managers meetings, I called around to Clubs to explore the possibility of potential off-season trades. At no time during any of these calls was there discussion of individual free agents or the Braves’ intentions with respect to the free agent market. To the extent I indicated otherwise during my media availability on Monday, I misspoke and apologize for any confusion.”

5:40pm: Tony Clark, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, announced Wednesday that the MLBPA has launched an investigation looking into recent comments from Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos. Specifically, the union took umbrage with the following comment Anthopoulos made during a recent conference call with Atlanta beat writers (link via The Athletic’s David O’Brien):

Every day you get more information. And we’ve had time to connect with 27 of the clubs — obviously the Astros and (Nationals) being in the World Series, they were tied up — but we had a chance to get a sense of what the other clubs are going to look to do in free agency, who might be available in trades.

The MLBPA’s issue stems from Anthopoulos’ acknowledgment of getting a feel for how other clubs plan to act in free agency. With regard to sharing intel in free agency, the collective bargaining agreement states: “Players shall not act in concert with other Players, and Clubs shall not act in concert with other Clubs.” In a press release, Clark expressed extreme displeasure with Anthopoulos’ assertion and offered the following response:

The statements made by Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos call into question the integrity of the entire free-agent system. The clear description of Club coordination is egregious, and we have launched an immediate investigation looking into the matter.

It’s the latest chapter in a saga that has seen tension between labor and management mount at an alarming rate. Clark and the Union have previously asked the league to investigate whether low-payroll clubs have appropriately utilized their revenue-sharing resources — the Pirates and Marlins, specifically — as multiple agents (including agent-turned-Mets-GM Brodie Van Wagenen) have spoken of “coordinated” efforts on the part of owners to scale back salaries at the Major League level. Clark has also accused MLB teams of a “race to the bottom,” and more recently raised issue with teams’ early assertions that they’ll face payroll constraints despite the continual increase in franchise values. (The Royals and Marlins have recently sold for $1 billion and $1.2 billion.)

There’s been no shortage of speculation surrounding a potential labor stoppage at the expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement (in 2021). The extent of the unrest has prompted the league and the union to begin negotiations for the next CBA much earlier than they’d normally have begun such discussions, but today’s statement from Clark only underscores the chasm that currently exists between the two sides.

Mark Shapiro, Toronto Blue Jays Open To Extension

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There may be an extension on the horizon for Toronto Blue Jays President and CEO Mark Shapiro, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (via Twitter).

There’s not a lot of concrete action here to go off of, but both sides are open to discussing an extension as Shapiro enters the final year of his current contract. Prior to taking over as team president in 2015, Shapiro had been a soldier of the Indians organization since 1991. He served as GM for the 2002-2010 seasons before a promotion to team president. In what was a fairly gracious move on the part of Indians ownership, they allowed Shapiro to leave for the Toronto job without requiring compensation.

Shapiro took over in Toronto on August 31, 2015, just a month before the team would make their first playoff appearance since 1993. Previous team president Paul Beeston had announced his intentions to retire following the 2015 season. GM Alex Anthopoulos chose not to return following the 2015 season. Though there was reportedly an extension offer at the time, Shapiro’s hiring also removed Anthopoulos’ autonomy regarding baseball decision. In retrospect, it’s hardly surprising that Anthopoulos would step aside given the circumstances. He has done just fine for himself after being hired as the Braves GM in November of 2017.

The Blue Jays, meanwhile, are putting together a roster of note for the first time since those playoff squads, though they are likely a year or two from truly competing in the AL East. As for Shapiro, his intentions regarding Toronto appear clear, per this tweet from Ben Nicholson-Smith of sportsnet.ca, in which Shapiro states, “I’ve been clear and consistent about enjoying where I am and wanting to be here. From a competitive perspective, I want to finish the job. That’s incredibly important to me.”

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