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Blue Jays: Shapiro reportedly scolded AA over prospect deals

By Keegan Matheson

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As the Toronto Blue Jays and general manager Alex Antopoulos part ways, the baseball world is alive with knee-jerk reactions and hot takes. Be careful out there, Jays fans. One report that’s emerged about the situation, however, sheds some light on the innitial divide between Shapiro and Anthopoulos.


Sportsnet’s Mike Wilner recently joined the Dean Blundell Show on The Fan 590 and partially discounted this report, as he’s aware that the two met more than once. While Wilner wasn’t buying it completely, other members of the media have also voiced a confirmation of the Westhead report.

This won’t help Shapiro’s image as he enters the Blue Jays market currently in a tumultuous state, and really, it doesn’t make much sense. Besides, the Cleveland Indians do not have a farm system that’s causing any league-wide jealousy.

The prospects lost by Toronto at the deadline were certainly a big hit, especially when looking at the long-term picture after an ALCS loss. Daniel Norris, Jeff Hoffman and Miguel Castro could all have factored into the 2016 pitching situation, and for cheap. But that is the cost of chasing a championship, and does this indicate a more conservative approach from the incoming president? Under Shapiro, the Indians operated very cautiously with their top prospects.

I’m of the opinion that Anthopoulos did well to make it out of the deadline with a farm system still in relatively good shape. After brilliantly rebuilding the minor league talent since the Marlins and Dickey trades, Anthopoulos had given himself the necessary capital to make these moves. It was part of a much larger plan.

In the wake of the deadline, I remained encouraged by the Blue Jays prospects due to the great amount of team control at the Major League level. Without many young players being needed to impact on the field or through trades for the next 16 months, there was suitable time for the talent to collectively mature. Similar to the growth seen in 2014.

Still, names like Dalton Pompey, Anthony Alford, Sean Reid-Foley, Conner Greene and Rowdy Tellez remain. Not to mention Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the top international signing with the potential to dream on.

So take this report with a grain of salt, but if there’s truth to this, it’s a little bizarre. Stay tuned throughout today as we’ll have full coverage of this situation as it unfolds.

Next: Anthopoulos and Blue Jays parting ways after ALCS run

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