The Atkins news conference came on the same day the Boston Red Sox introduced Price after he signed a seven-year deal worth $217 million.
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The position opened when Anthopoulos – a popular figure in Toronto, especially after building a team that ended the Jays’ 22-year post-season drought this season – declined an extension in October. Happ pitched for the Blue Jays during the 2014 season before splitting last season between the Mariners and the Pirates. That might rub people the wrong way.
Reports had previously surfaced that Atkins was absent from the Indians’ organizational meetings this offseason leading to reports that he would be heading to Toronto.
They used him as often as possible against divisional and Wild Card foes like the New York Yankees.
“In [director of analytics] Joe Sheehan, we’ve got one of the bright young guys in the game today in analytics but he’s operating with a staff that’s smaller than most”.
“I don’t foresee anything bigger than let’s think about how we can make this team as good as it can be, see where that takes us and then we’ll have to be prepared and think through what our alternatives are given our circumstances”. “But that’s not any different than how it is in most organizations that I’m aware of”. It’s about depth to make your team better in both the short and long term. But I just feel like that money should be earmarked for more important things; like extending Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Josh Donaldson, or potentially all three players.
Former Indians manager Eric Wedge is also a candidate to join the Blue Jays’ front office in some capacity, per Fox Sport’s Ken Rosenthal.
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The other reported finalist for the job, longtime Blue Jays front office fixture Tony LaCava (who once spent a year working for Shapiro in Cleveland), will remain with the organization. He replaced Paul Beeston, who retired after years of running the business side of the Blue Jays.
