Blue Jays: Tony Lacava could be the next to leave Toronto

After relieving their own GM of his duties, it sounds like the Pittsburgh Pirates might be interested in Blue Jays’ senior VP Tony Lacava to fill the role.

The Blue Jays haven’t really been able to add to their organization yet with the World Series yet to conclude and free agency still to open, but they’ve already lost one key member of the training staff when Nikki Huffman decided to pursue other interests.

There’s a chance the Blue Jays could be down another member of the organization, that is, if the rumours are true about the Pittsburgh Pirates and their search for their next GM.

The Pirates made the decision to let go of Neil Huntington yesterday, and according to according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Jason Mackey, it sounds like the Blue Jays’ senior vice president, Tony Lacava might be on their radar to replace him.

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We certainly shouldn’t begrudge Lacava if he looked for a promotion elsewhere, but it would be a shame to see the long-time Blue Jay employee leave this winter. He started with the organization back in 2002 working as an assistant under J.P. Ricciardi, and later worked as the director of player development when Alex Anthopoulos was in charge.

When Anthopoulos announced he would not be returning after the 2016 campaign, Lacava was briefly handed the reigns as the interim general manager, ultimately being replaced by Ross Atkins, who was hired by Mark Shapiro (still with me?). At that time, Lacava was named as the Senior VP of baseball operations and also as the assistant general manager, and has maintained an important voice in the Blue Jays’ front office.

Whether or not he becomes a serious candidate for the Pirates remains to be seen, as this falls into the rumour pile for the time being. Mackey also mentioned a scout with the Yankees named Marc DelPiano, and Brewers assistant GM Matt Arnold as other names he’s heard in the rumour mill, and it’s obviously still early as Huntington’s recent dismissal.