Toronto Blue Jays interested in Cleveland Indians President Mark Shapiro?
All appears to be going well north of the border in Toronto. The Toronto Blue Jays are competing against the New York Yankees for the AL East division lead.
In Toronto names are being thrown around of possible candidates to replace retiring president Paul Beeston.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
The 70-year-old Beeston has a long history with the franchise that dates back to its inception into Major League Baseball back in 1976. He is the first employee of the team. He became the team’s vice president in 1977, executive vice president in 1984 and then chief operating officer in 1989. In 1991, he became the president and chief executive officer. He worked in the Major League Baseball Office from 1997 to 2002, before returning to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Former Detroit Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski was one person that was rumored to take over the president role and work with Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos. Last week the Boston Red Sox came calling and were able to lure Dombrowski to Red Sox Nation to be the team’s President of Baseball Operations.
Late last week it was reported by FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal that the Toronto Blue Jays might have another target that they would like to speak to about the presidency role with the team. His name is Mark Shapiro, currently serving as president of the Cleveland Indians.
Shapiro has been in the Tribe organization since 1991 where he was continually promoted until reaching his current title. The Sporting News selected Shapiro as its Executive of the Year in 2005 and 2007 with the Indians winning over 90 games each year.
The 2007 Indians went on to win the American League Central Division title. That season they beat the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series in four games and then lost to the eventual World Series champion Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series in seven games.
We are not sure whether Ken Rosenthal is right. What we do know is that if the Blue Jays are rumored to be in any discussions, the team will often make a detour and go in a completely different direction.