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Alex Anthopoulos

Latest On The Braves’ Front Office Search

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10:14pm: The Braves are moving on from Moore, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports, as “hope evaporated this weekend” that Moore would be made available by the Royals.  In regards to Hart’s future, Bowman notes that since both Anthopoulos and Hendry are experienced general managers, either could take over the Braves’ baseball ops department should Hart no longer continue with the organization.  “The Braves likely will make a decision as soon as possible” about their new GM, and Anthopoulos looks like the favorite.

7:39pm: Dayton Moore is still the Braves’ top choice to become the club’s new general manager, though if Atlanta isn’t able to get Moore away from the Royals, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that former Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos is “the preferred Plan B” option.  Three sources paint Anthopoulos as the front-runner for the job, given that there still seems to be little traction to the idea of Moore leaving Kansas City for Atlanta.

The situation is far from being finalized, however, due to the Braves holding out hope that Moore could still become available, Major League Baseball’s ongoing investigation into signing violations under former Braves GM John Coppolella, and the status of Braves president of baseball operations John Hart.  Sherman reports that Hart prefers Anthopoulos for the GM job, while club vice chairman John Schuerholz is thought to prefer former Cubs GM Jim Hendry.  Hart’s own contract with the Braves expired after the 2017 season, and it isn’t yet clear if he will remain atop Atlanta’s baseball ops pyramid or if the team could desire a clean slate with a new name in charge of the front office.  (In regards to Moore, he would reportedly want full control over the Braves’ operations if he were to join the organization.)

Anthopoulos, 40, worked as Toronto’s GM for six seasons, building the nucleus that led the Jays to consecutive runs to the ALCS in 2015-16.  He somewhat surprisingly left the job after his contract was up after the 2015 season, however, the presence of new Jays president Mark Shapiro meant that Anthopoulos would’ve essentially been demoted to second-in-command on the team’s depth chart of baseball decision-makers.

Anthopoulos has worked as the Dodgers’ VP of baseball operations since January 2016, and turned down offers from the Twins and Diamondbacks last year when the two clubs were in the midst of their own GM searches.  Family concerns were reportedly behind Anthopoulos’ decision to bow out of those searches, as he didn’t want to uproot his young children from the west coast so quickly.  As Sherman notes, however, the Braves’ job “is viewed as attractive” around baseball due to the team’s deep well of prospects, even despite the likelihood that MLB will level some type of punishment against the franchise.

NL East Notes: Nationals, Riley, Braves, Garcia

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“There may be no ownership group in baseball that is more involved in the selection of its manager” than the Nationals, Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post writes as part of a look at Dave Martinez’s hiring and owner Ted Lerner’s influence.  Martinez’s three-year contract is “normal for the industry, outlandish for the Nats,” which indicates that Lerner (who just turned 92 last month) is more committed than ever to finally capture that elusive World Series championship.  It could also hint at an aggressive offseason for Washington as it tries to add the final pieces to an already strong team.

Here’s more from around the NL East…

  • The Braves have a need at third base, but David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution considers it unlikely that the team will look for a major upgrade at the hot corner this winter thanks to the presence of prospect Austin Riley.  The 41st overall pick in the 2015 draft, Riley has shown solid power potential in his young career, including a .900 OPS in 203 Double-A plate appearances last season.  With Riley perhaps on pace to crack the big leagues as a September call-up this year and then be in the mix for regular duty at third base in 2019, Atlanta doesn’t want to block his progress by adding a veteran on a long-term contract.  MLBTR, for the record, predicted Mike Moustakas as a Braves signing this winter in our list of the top 50 free agents.
  • The Braves’ front office situation is still up in the air, though potential GM candidates could include such names as Alex Anthopoulos, Dan O’Dowd and Josh Byrnes, as per O’Brien (Twitter link) and MLB.com’s Mark Bowman.  One interesting aspect of Atlanta’s search is that many of the names connected (this trio plus Jim Hendry, Dan Jennings, Ben Cherington, and rumored top choice Dayton Moore) are all former or current Major League general managers.  This could indicate that the Braves want an experienced baseball operations leader who would be better equipped to operate despite whatever punishments or restrictions the organization could face once MLB concludes its investigation.
  • The Marlins are considering stretching out left-hander Jarlin Garcia in Spring Training to give him a shot at a starting job, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro writes.  Garcia made his MLB debut last year, posting a 4.73 ERA, 7.1 K/9 and 2.47 K/BB rate over 53 1/3 innings out of Miami’s bullpen.  His numbers worsened as the season went on, however, which add to durability concerns about Garcia’s potential as a starter; Frisaro notes that the southpaw was converted to a relief role due to past concerns about his ability to stay healthy and effective as a starter.  Assuming Garcia doesn’t run into any injury issues, the Marlins have little to lose by at least kicking the tires on his rotation potential, given how the club is sorely in need of starting pitching help.

Alex Anthopoulos Turns Down Diamondbacks

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The Diamondbacks contacted Dodgers vice president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos about their vacant general manager position, but the 39-year-old told Arizona he’s not interested, reports FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman. Anthopoulos is content in Los Angeles, per Heyman, who notes that the former Blue Jays GM’s two young children just started school in the area.

Anthopoulos previously spurned the Twins, who wanted to meet with him regarding their open president of baseball operations position, so his decision to reject the Diamondbacks isn’t necessarily a shot at them as much as a desire to remain in LA. Regardless, Heyman doesn’t expect the D-backs to have difficulty finding a successor to Dave Stewart. Although multiple executives across baseball have expressed concerns about Arizona’s recent lack of front office stability, someone with interest in the position told Heyman that it’s “BS,” noting that “only 30 of these jobs” exist.

Since the Diamondbacks parted with Stewart on Monday, ex-Dodgers GM Ned Colletti, MLB senior vice president Kim Ng, fellow league executive Peter Woodfork, and Brewers VP of scouting Ray Montgomery have all emerged as outside candidates to replace him. In-house options include assistant GM Bryan Minniti and farm director Mike Bell.

Alex Anthopoulos Says He’s No Longer A Candidate For Twins Job

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SATURDAY: Anthopoulos has told colleagues that the timing is poor for him to take a top baseball operations job elsewhere, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press writes. That means he won’t be taking a new job with the Twins. The Dodgers exec recently had his family join him in the Los Angeles area, and his two young children are recently started school.

TUESDAY: Alex Anthopoulos is a “confirmed candidate” to take over the Twins’ soon-to-be-created position of president of baseball operations, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports on Twitter. He becomes the first potential front office candidate clearly linked to the organization.

Minnesota has reportedly begun a search to add both a PBOp as well as a general manager, adopting some form of the two-tiered front office structure that has become popular around the league. The team has been relying upon Rob Antony as interim GM after parting ways with Terry Ryan earlier this year.

The 39-year-old Anthopoulos is best known for his turn as the GM of the Blue Jays from late 2009 through 2015. After putting together a postseason club last year — the organization’s first berth 1993 — he ended up parting ways with the club in a surprising series of events.

Toronto hired Mark Shapiro as president, reportedly promising him final authority over baseball decisionmaking. While the Jays attempted to retain Anthopoulos, offering him a five-year deal that he could have opted out of after a single season, he declined to continue with the new leadership and somewhat-altered parameters of his role.

Since that time, Anthopoulos has been working for the Dodgers as a Vice President, joining several other prominent former top baseball operations personnel in the Los Angeles front office. At the time of his hiring, Anthopoulos expressed interest in a long-term gig there — while also noting that he’d be intrigued by the idea of running his own shop again.

AL East Notes: Anthopoulos, Benintendi, Yankees

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The Dodgers are currently playing a series against the Blue Jays in Toronto, which means that former Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos (currently the Dodgers’ vice president of baseball operations) is back in town. Anthopoulos spoke to reporters, including MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm, about his time with the Jays organization. Anthopoulos notes that one trade he wonders about not making was for Ben Zobrist, who the Jays evidently were close to acquiring from Oakland last season before he ultimately went to Kansas City. He also looks back on one trade he did make, sending Noah Syndergaard and Travis d’Arnaud to New York in his famous 2012 deal for R.A. Dickey. Syndergaard, of course, has emerged as a phenom, but Anthopoulos defends the deal from the Blue Jays’ perspective. The team had two sluggers in their primes, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, and faced a tough decision about whether to build around them or consider trading them and resetting for the future. The Jays opted for the former. “The thought was three years in a row, and beyond, to be able to get the playoffs and win the World Series,” Anthopoulos says. “The thought was always that it could be what it is today in terms of attendance, TV ratings, fan interest. The belief was there. It was almost like a wick and you needed to light it.” Here’s more from the AL East.

  • The Red Sox could soon consider promoting top outfield prospect Andrew Benintendi from Class A+ Salem to a higher level, Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald writes. The seventh overall pick in the 2015 draft has continued his torrid hitting from last season — he’s currently batting a ridiculous .381/.442/.648 for Salem and currently has a .337/.425/.587 line for his minor-league career. Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski says he has no hard-and-fast criteria for the timings of minor-league promotions, instead treating them on a “case-by-case basis.” Of Benintendi, Dombowski says, “I don’t think it’s worth really speculating, but I could have to say it’s at least a situation that I’m sure will merit attention.”
  • Yankees manager Joe Girardi says Alex Rodriguez’s hamstring strain is a grade “one-plus,” MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch tweets. There had been optimism that Rodriguez could return from the DL on May 19, the first day he’s eligible, but that might be unlikely. Carlos Beltran has played DH in Rodriguez’s absence, with Aaron Hicks in right field.
  • Meanwhile, Yankees starter C.C. Sabathia is optimistic he can return from the DL in the minimum amount of time, tweets Hoch. Sabathia was placed on the DL yesterday with a groin strain, but he doesn’t believe it’s severe. Ivan Nova is replacing Sabathia in the Yankees’ rotation.

Dodgers Hire Alex Anthopoulos As Vice President

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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.

AL East Notes: Boggs, Yankees, Orioles, Anthopoulos, Jays

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The Red Sox announced yesterday that they will retire the No. 26 in honor of Wade Boggs on May 26 of the upcoming season. Boggs, now 57, spent the majority of his career donning a Red Sox uniform. The 2005 Hall of Fame inductee debuted as a rookie with the Sox back in 1982 and played there through 1992, hitting .338/.428/.462 and winning five batting titles (in a span of six years) in his 11 seasons with the club. He’ll join the likes of Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk, Jim Rice, Johnny Pesky, Pedro Martinez, Bobby Doerr and Joe Cronin as part of Red Sox lore.

Here are some more notes from the AL East…

  • The Yankees are seeking an inexpensive rotation option, writes George A. King III of the New York Post. Per King, the club hopes to land a young starter via trade or add a rotation option on a minor league deal with an invite to Major League Spring Training. The Yankees, he adds, aren’t involved in the free-agent market at any position at this point. King notes that the Yankees continue to insist that Luis Severino, Aaron Judge, Greg Bird and Jorge Mateo aren’t available in trade, but adding a controllable arm to their rotation mix without parting with said prospects will be a difficult task. As such, it seems to me that adding some veteran arms on minor league deals is a likelier route. A pair of speculative names that would seem to me to be fits: Chad Billingsley and Wandy Rodriguez.
  • Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun doesn’t believe that the Orioles will go beyond three years in their efforts to land a free-agent starting pitcher. While they’ve been connected to Yovani Gallardo and Scott Kazmir, both are seeking four-year pacts. Encina notes that Ubaldo Jimenez is the only free-agent starter the O’s have ever signed to a four-year deal. (Jon Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that the Orioles are still in the mix for both Gallardo and Kazmir, among other pitchers). Encina also notes that there’s nothing imminent on the Chris Davis front, and the Orioles remain unwilling to up their offer from the reported seven-year deal worth $150MM.
  • Former Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos tells the Canadian Press that he expects to be working again next month. While Anthopoulos said there are media opportunities that have presented themselves, he will most likely take a job with a Major League team in some capacity. “I understand that I may not be a general manager again and I’m OK with that,” said Anthopoulos. “Now again, that’s what my perspective is today. And obviously deciding not to sign an extension, I had to be prepared for that. I just think that all of the decisions I’ve made in my life, I never chased the money. You try to do what ultimately you feel is going to satisfy you and fulfil you. As simple as it sounds — and maybe this is naive — but normally success will follow.”
  • MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm breaks down the Blue Jays’ 11 out-of-options players, noting that many will be competing for jobs in Spring Training. Ezequiel Carrera, Brett Cecil, Jesse Chavez, Steve Delabar, R.A. Dickey, Josh Donaldson, Chad Jenkins, A.J. Jimenez, Josh Thole and Junior Lake are all out of options, Chisholm notes. While many of those names needn’t be the least bit concerned with their lack of options, that factor is much more impactful for the likes of Carrera, Jimenez and Lake. Both Carrera and Lake are at least fifth on the club’s outfield depth chart. Chisholm feels that it’s “only a matter of time” before Jimenez, once one of Toronto’s top prospects and a potential long-term piece behind the plate, is placed on waivers.

East Notes: Davis, O’Day, Papelbon, Anthopoulos, Phillies

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Orioles GM Dan Duquette has said on many occasions that he’s trying to re-sign Chris Davis, and ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets that owner Peter Angelos has also become directly involved in talks to re-sign the slugger. Contracts of the magnitude such as the one Davis is expected to sign are typically ownership-level decisions, and as Olney notes, the O’s wouldn’t stand a serious chance in negotiations were Angelos not involved in talks. Baltimore still figures to face plenty of competition in their endeavors, with one Friday report linking the Cardinals to Davis.

A few more notes from the game’s Eastern divisions…

  • Interest between the Nationals and right-hander Darren O’Day is mutual, reports CSNWashington.com’s Mark Zuckerman. A source points out to Zuckerman that the Nats are in a favorable spot due to the fact that his wife is a TV reporter for FOX News in Washington, as CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman pointed out over the weekend. That would seem to make either D.C. or Baltimore an attractive place to land for O’Day, but Zuckerman writes that there’s no evidence that the Orioles have made a serious effort to re-sign the right-hander. Zuckerman adds that O’Day would be an out-of-character signing for GM Mike Rizzo, who has shown a willingness to pay top dollar for relief arms (Rafael Soriano, Jonathan Papelbon) but only over shorter terms than the three or four years which O’Day will command. Adding O’Day into the fold would seem to increase the likelihood that Papelbon or Drew Storen will be traded this winter, he continues, though a trade of either wouldn’t be a certainty.
  • Papelbon recently altered the teams on his no-trade list, reports James Wagner of the Washington Post. Though he doesn’t have specifics on the updated list, Wagner points out that the no-trade clause makes it more difficult to move Papelbon than Storen, who also has just one year of team control remaining at a cheaper rate than that of Papelbon. GM Mike Rizzo has said he doesn’t feel the need to trade either reliever unless he gets a sound return, but as Wagner notes, that could just be an attempt at preserving some trade value.
  • Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun cites two sources in reporting that the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes have reached out to former Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos about working in a senior position or a consulting position within the team’s front office. The Coyotes reached out to Anthopoulos immediately upon his decision to leave the Blue Jays, writes Simmons, and they’re one of many teams/media outlets to inquire with Anthopoulos about his future. Per Simmons, Anthopoulos isn’t expected to make any kind of decision on his future until late December or early January. Simmons adds that the call from the Coyotes caught Anthopoulos “by complete surprise,” as he’s never worked in hockey at any level, though he does know Coyotes assistant GM John Chayka personally.
  • MLB.com’s Matthew Leach and Todd Zolecki tackle a number of Phillies-related hot stove topics in a podcast. Zolecki feels it’s highly unlikely that the Phillies will sign a notable free agent, though he states that he “absolutely” believes the team will add a stable rotation arm that can make 30 or so starts on a short-term deal with the idea that said addition could save the young arms in the bullpen or rotation. Jeremy Hellickson is already viewed somewhat in that role, Zolecki notes, though the team believes he has a bit more upside given that he’s younger than recent arms (e.g. Aaron Harang, Jerome Williams) they’ve brought in to serve in that role.

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Blue Jays, Anthopoulos

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Dave Dombrowski has never shied away from free agent splashes, but he’s really made his bones with trades.  Now, with the GM Meetings on the horizon, it will be interesting to see how the new Red Sox president of baseball operations knows his new farm system, Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal writes.  Dombrowski has indicated that he might deal from the team’s organizational outfield depth, but deciding who to move and who to hold can be tricky.  DD will have to evaluate outfielders from the majors like Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. down to minor leaguers Manuel Margot and Andrew Benintendi.

Here’s more out of the AL East:

  • When asked if he could eventually return to the Blue Jays as GM, Alex Anthopoulos told Jim Bowden and Jim Duquette of SiriusXM (via Twitter links) that there is “no chance.”  When asked if he’d seek out another GM job, AA said, “Certainly not in the near term. Going forward, I would be open to it. I don’t know I need to do it again.”  Anthopoulos also refuted reports that new Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro was critical of his summer trades.  Shapiro himself shot those rumors down in a press conference last week.
  • There’s a lot of pressure on Dombrowski to acquire an ace, but ultimately any big ticket move will be the call of Red Sox owner John Henry, Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald writes. It is well known that Henry is against long-term, high-priced deals for aging pitchers, but one industry insider speculates that he will defer to Dombrowski’s judgment “on one big fish” this winter.  Last year, the Red Sox went into April without a true ace and while there were other factors holding them back, they wound up with a second consecutive last-place finish.
  • Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com looked at MLBTR’s projection of a six-year, $144MM deal for Orioles slugger Chris Davis and gave his own take.

Quick Hits: GMs, Johnson, Honeycutt

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GM Alex Anthopoulos’ departure from the Blue Jays’ GM job is connected to the phenomenon of “title inflation” thoughout the industry, FanGraphs’ Dave Cameron writes. Previously, the GM was typically the top executive in charge of baseball personnel decisions, but increasingly, teams are hiring former GMs to be presidents of baseball operations, to whom GMs report. For example, Theo Epstein is the Cubs’ president of baseball operations, while Jed Hoyer is their GM. The Red Sox, Dodgers and several other teams have similar arrangements. In Anthopoulous’ case, the Blue Jays are replacing former president Paul Beeston with Mark Shapiro, who was formerly the Indians’ GM. Under Beeston, who did not have a baseball operations background, Anthopoulos had a great deal of authority to make player personnel moves. The Blue Jays have denied that the nature of Anthopoulos’ job would have changed under Shapiro, and there appear to have been personality differences between Anthopoulos and Shapiro that contributed to Anthopoulos’ decision to leave. One potential portion of the problem, though, likely was the perception (or reality) that the Blue Jays installed a baseball operations employee above Anthopoulos. As Cameron notes, it’s becoming increasingly common for teams to do just that, reducing the power of GMs for a dozen organizations around the game. Perhaps, Cameron suggests, Anthopoulos’ position with his next club could be president of baseball operations. Here’s more from around the game.

  • Red Sox lefty Brian Johnson was unharmed in a carjacking yesterday in Florida, Florida Today reports (hat tip: CBS Sports’ David Brown). Johnson was with a group of people at a convenience store when the accused assailant allegedly approached a member of Johnson’s party, demanded the keys to the vehicle in which Johnson was riding, and shot a bullet into the ground, a fragment of which hit one of Johnson’s companions in the leg. Gould was then arrested after a high-speed chase. Johnson, who MLB.com currently ranks the Sox’ fourth-best prospect, is coming off a successful season at Triple-A Pawtucket and made his big-league debut in July.
  • Pitching coach Rick Honeycutt is about to sign an extension with to stay with the Dodgers, FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi reports (Twitter links). The plan is for Honeycutt to remain as a pitching coach for two more seasons, then transition into a special assistant role. The Dodgers and manager Don Mattingly recently parted ways, of course, but the Dodgers hope that retaining Honeycutt will help the team ease the transition to a new manager.
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