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Toronto Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos will not return in 2016

By Tim Haberin

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After a wildly successful campaign that saw the Toronto Blue Jays make their first postseason appearance since 1993, general manager Alex Anthopoulos will not return in 2016.

According to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet, Anthopoulos rejected a multi-year extension to remain at the club. His current contract expires at the end of the month. Ben Nicholson-Smith, also of Sportnet, reports that Anthopoulos was offered a five-year deal. FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal says the refusal was not due to a disagreement over terms or money.

Longtime Jays CEO Paul Beeston praised Anthopoulos in a statement: “Alex has done an unbelievable job and positioned us well for the future.  He can take great pride in his past and while we do not know where his future is taking him, we do know wherever he is going, he will be successful.”

The departure is a somewhat of an enigma considering the Jays’ ALCS-clinching season and the apparent lack of open front office positions throughout the league. There is growing speculation that Mark Shapiro, the team’s incoming president, could have something to do with Anthopoulos’ decision to leave.

Despite his prior comments about having “great discussions” with Shapiro, Anthopoulous may have felt that the former Cleveland Indians executive would be moving in on his turf more than he expected. Perhaps he was not satisfied with the level of autonomy he would have on baseball decisions moving forward.

Anthopoulos’ tenure as GM in Toronto, which began in 2009, had its share of peaks and valleys. He sent Noah Syndergaard and Travis d’Arnaud to the Mets three years ago in exchange for R.A. Dickey, a trade most Jays fans would probably like to reverse. However, he also paved the way for this year’s run by dealing for Josh Donaldson last offseason, as well as acquiring David Price and Troy Tulowitzki at the trade deadline.

The Blue Jays aim to remain a force to be reckoned with in 2016, although Anthopoulos’ exit puts a new wrinkle into their offseason plans. It will be intriguing to see how Toronto handles its GM position now, and where Anthopoulos ends up from here.

Next: Marlins to hire Mattingly as manager

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