Written by Liam McGuire at Bloguin
Toronto Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro held his first press conference today and answered some burning questions regarding the state of the franchise. Here are the major takeaways.
John Gibbons will be back
Gibbons was brought back to Toronto by Alex Anthopoulos in late 2012, after flaming out during his previous stint with the club. The move was met by some head scratching at the time, but ultimately Gibbons did a great job as manager and decision maker, bringing the Blue Jays to the playoffs for the first time in 22 years, and within two wins of playing in the World Series in 2015. Since Gibbons was aligned with Anthopoulos, it was rumored he’d be axed following his departure, but Gibbons will be back behind the bench in 2016.
LaCava assumes GM duties for now
Tony LaCava will handle the role of GM in the interim basis. Shapiro might be the man making the final decisions, but LaCava, the former VP of baseball operations and assistant GM, will have an increased role. This is good news for the Blue Jays, at least in the present, as it was feared LaCava, who’s highly respected within the organization, would join the exodus and not return to the club. He’s often listed as a potential GM candidate, so now’s the time to show what he can do.
LaCava also mentioned the Blue Jays aren’t going to gut their roster, as the club’s current window to win is now. That’s a huge sigh of relief for Blue Jays fans.
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