WFNY Roundtable: What We’re Watching For in Browns-Bills
August 20, 2015LeBron just hanging out, dunking, and dominating the Philippines at basketball
August 20, 2015The Boston Red Sox made waves with the Cleveland Indians on the field when it was announced that highly touted general manager Dave Dombrowski was joining their front office. Now, it could be the Indians’ turn to dance in the wake of front office news and rumors with Ken Rosenthal is reporting Mark Shapiro’s name could find its way to Toronto.
Nearly five years later, Shapiro has emerged as a strong candidate to join the Blue Jays in a similar role, according to major-league sources.
The Jays have spoken to Shapiro about replacing outgoing president/CEO Paul Beeston, sources say.
Beeston will retire at the end of the season. The Jays have been seeking a replacement for him since at least last December, when they talked to the Orioles’ Dan Duquette and the White Sox’s Ken Williams about the job.
Rosenthal goes on to say that the Jays interviewed Dombrowski before he landed in Boston, so the game of musical chairs is apparently on and Tribe fans could be left wondering if there will be anyone to sit in the Indians’ chair when the music stops.
In Toronto, Shapiro would presumably find himself with a much healthier budget, but he’s also not a GM, so his real value might be looked at in terms of stadium and business concerns. Still, it would probably be a relief for Shapiro as the Blue Jays have payroll topping $121 million and the Indians president hasn’t been shy over the years talking about the “limitations” that Cleveland necessitates as a market.
I’ve been awfully critical of Shapiro, most recently for his messaging. I’ve been warned publicly and privately to be careful what I might be wishing for, even just by intimation. An exit by Mark Shapiro — or anyone else for that matter — doesn’t mean that the next candidate is necessarily going to do a better job or magically come up with more resources. Although far from perfect, it is a distinct possibility that Mark Shapiro and his staff have performed far better in their situation than many alternative candidates would have.
Regardless, if Shapiro departs, the sometimes vocal contingent of Indians fans who want Shapiro fired will get at least part of their wish granted. Shapiro could very well be gone, just on his terms instead of on the receiving end of a pink slip.
Update / non-update…
Mark Shapiro has no comment on the Toronto rumor.
Indians president Mark Shapiro declines comment on Toronto Blue Jays rumors.
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) August 21, 2015
13 Comments
What? Shapiro hasn’t finished his job in Cleveland!!!
http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/ghf1.gif
First we sent a barge full of garbage to Atlanta, now we might be sending a dumpster load up to Toronto? Nice.
Thought Tito staying hinged on Shap/Antonet being on board?
He’s going to Toronto too.
If this goes through, it will really be surprising, timing-wise. I can understand Shapiro wanting to bolt to a team with a bigger budget, but has there ever been a better time to be in a small market team’s front office? The game has changed since the bad old days of the mid-2000s when Shapiro was cutting his teeth as a GM. Drug testing has made guys in their late-20’s and early 30’s much less valuable than they were in the steroid era. Certainly, building a $100-200 million payroll around these guys is no longer the foolproof path to building a winner. Big money guys like Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Hamilton, and Prince Fielder are getting dumped by big market teams any chance they get.
The path to success in the MLB is now clearly through the Amateur Draft. Tampa Bay was the early harbringer for this formula, as year after year of top 10 picks built a championship-contender in MLB’s worst market. Houston, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, and even the Chicago Cubs have followed that formula to perfection. MLB has smoothed the path even further by doling out extra high picks to small market clubs and installing a “salary cap” (yes, i said it) when it comes to draft pools. Small market teams like the Indians no longer have to pass on guys with top 10 picks because of signability issues. All this has made it much easier for the Indians to draft the future Kris Bryant, Eric Hosmer, or George Springer. Coupled with Brad Grant’s impressive recent run in the first round (Lindor, Frazier, Zimmer > Crowe, Sowers, Huff) and the future was suddenly looking bright for Cleveland, this season’s disappointing results notwithstanding.
Really good points. What hasn’t changed, though, is the ability of smaller market teams to keep their prime talent in their primes. You point out some FA busts (except for Fielder, who’s playing very well) but many guys – CC for a long time, Greinke, Miggy – have given the highest bidders great years.
Shapiro has pre-teen kids and a wife with an art gallery here and it’s not so easy to move that to Canada. But no one’s mentioning Shapiro’s contract status with the Dolans. The last reference I could find was to a contract extended through 2013. https://www.baseballprospectus.com/compensation/cots/american-league/cleveland-indians/. He wouldn’t be able to interview with the Jays without the Dolans’ permission if he’s still under contract. That’s the one thing that makes me think that maybe there’s something here. If he was talking to the Jays on the down low he’d probably issue a denial, not a no comment.
Agreed, Harv–the Yankees, Dodgers, and Angels of the world will continue to have no problem retaining their studs. It’s just that those studs aren’t as likely to have the longevity to justify the 10 yr/$200M-type contracts they command, particularly on the back end of those deals. I really think drug testing has leveled the playing field and made MLB much more of a young man’s game again. I’ll take six years off team control over a young, hungry, athletic guy just entering his prime over a guy in his 30’s with diminishing skills who’s likely to spend significant time on the DL. Sure, the Angels can afford Mike Trout AND Albert Pujols, but if I had to pick one player (OR perhaps more significantly, one contract) it would be Trout hands down.
the shapiro era has grown so old and stale. it has run its course. time for both parties to move on from one another.
I agree, Ive been a Shapanetti apologist and I think they’ve done a halfway decent job under the circumstances. But this season has been such a letdown, I thought the Indians had enough pieces to at least match last seasons output and hang around in the race till the end. It might be time for a fresh start.
Moss is hitting like .115 in stl and we got starting p for him
He’ll win a championship in Toronto. “Mark” my words.
Hasta la vista!!!!
That would be great!