Blue Jays: Former GM Alex Anthopoulos on Shapiro, Atlanta and More

Ahead of Tuesday’s series opener, former Blue Jays general manager and current Atlanta Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos took some time to answer some questions about his past, his present, and his future.

Fan favourite Alex Anthopoulos appeared on Sportsnet’s Tim & Sid Monday night and spoke candidly on a few interesting topics. Sporting cool shades and a casual polo, the former Blue Jays general manager seemed optimistic about his current Atlanta Braves team.

He spoke primarily about his future with the Braves, noting that while he’s not dismissing this year’s sudden surge in success, he’s being cautiously optimistic as he approaches his first non-waiver trade deadline at the helm of the Braves.

As much fun as he is having in Atlanta, he still had a bit to say on his tenure with the Jays. When asked about what he considers to be the most important aspect of the Braves’ game so far, he responded bluntly, saying that he considers defence to be the most important part of a baseball team’s success. As far as the Jays go, he said this regarding Troy Tulowitzki’s acquisition at the 2015 trade deadline:

"That was the most important thing that I thought we changed [in Toronto], not David Price, as great as he was, but making [the Jays] a better defensive club."

Anthopoulos was also asked about superstar prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr., which he, along with former Blue Jays international scouting director Ismael Cruz brought in during the summer of 2015.

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"I’ve been asked a bunch…I’m thrilled for him that he’s playing well, I’m thrilled that everyone’s excited in the organization. Hopefully he continues, hopefully he can get up here at some point and have a long career and follow his dad into the Hall of Fame as a Jay, that would be great"

Finally, AA was asked about “how it ended”, a mysterious and puzzling incident that led to Anthopoulos’ exodus from Toronto following a handsome contract extension proposal by the team’s executive board. Despite several rumours and talks of a feud between him and current president and CEO Mark Shapiro, Alex said there were no such issues, saying that it was purely a personal choice:

"There is no “way it ended”.  I honoured my contract, I honoured it to the last day. I made a decision, I just chose [not to stay]. Today, there’s no issues at all, I have great feelings with them and I still have a lot of friends here."

In addition, he stated that he treats the Jays like any other American League team, with no hard feelings whatsoever. At the end of the interview, he endearingly smiled and said: “this city will always be home, and I’m proud of it”.

He may not be the big boss in Toronto anymore, but it’s good to hear that he’s doing well, and he’s enjoying his new job as the GM of a pretty exciting organization. The Blue Jays split the two game mini-series against the first place Braves by taking Wednesday afternoon’s matinee by a score of 5-4.

Next: Blue Jays: The Impact of Luck and Injuries