Blue Jays broadcaster Gregg Zaun interested in front office role

Blue Jays ex-player and current broadcaster broadcaster Gregg Zaun is reportedly interested in a future baseball operations front office role

It’s not uncommon for former catchers to transition into major league managerial roles. Look no further than current skipper John Gibbons, who enjoyed a cup of coffee behind the dish with the New York Mets.

Nor is it uncommon for ex-players to make a stop in the broadcast booth or a similar media role before getting back into the game. According to this morning’s article from Bob Elliot at the Canadian Baseball Network, Gregg Zaun, “The Manalyst” himself, has recently shown an interest in doing just that.

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“In the fall I was mulling over the idea if a manager’s job or a GM’s job came open. I’d be willing to listen. Not that I am unhappy doing what I’m doing,” Zaun said.

You’ve got to admire him digging in and swinging for the fences.

In fact, it appears that Zaun was directly interested in the role of Blue Jays general manager after the departure of Alex Anthopoulos, even reaching out to new president Mark Shapiro.

“I was asking is it all about analytics? Are lineups dictated by GMs? What do you look for when you hire a GM? A manager? Mostly general baseball questions,” Zaun said. “Alex had left, the position was open, it was my feeling Mark was going to be more hands on, so I called.”

Zaun understood that Shapiro had a primary group of candidates in mind, but did throw his name into the ring regardless. “If a situation arises where you are dissatisfied with these candidates,” Zaun told Shapiro, “I would love to learn the business from you. I know you and know you are a smart guy. I’m not adverse to taking instructions from you.”

Let’s open up the floor on this one. Instead of a yay or nay vote on Front Office Zaun, let’s have some fun and predict the moves that general manager Gregg Zaun would have made over the past two months.

Perhaps a trade for Yordano Ventura.