MLB rumors: Which general manager jobs could be in jeopardy in 2023?
By Bill Felber
AL East
Baltimore Orioles: Since becoming general manager prior to the 2019 season, Mike Elias has taken one of the game’s worst organizations and built it into one of the best. The Orioles have both the best farm system and the American League’s best record. He’s in as secure a position as it is possible for a general manager to be.
Boston Red Sox: Chaim Bloom and Brian O’Halloran have been chief baseball officer and general manager since 2020. The 2023 Sox have been a disappointment, and they are likely to miss out on postseason play for the fourth time in five years.
Beyond that, team owner John Henry has been known to shake things up. Bloom and O’Halloran are the seventh upper management team hired by Henry since he took over in 2002, among whom only Theo Epstein lasted longer than four seasons. This is the fourth season for Bloom and O’Halloran. Precedent is not on their side.
New York Yankees: As such as some Yankee fans would like to be rid of Brian Cashman, he’s unlikely to be going anywhere. For starters, team owner Hal Steinbrenner is not the second coming of his father, George. This Steinbrenner generation is far more tolerant, witness the fact that, since taking over control of the team in 2008, Hal has never fired or hired a general manager. Beyond that, not long ago he extended Cashman’s working arrangement through 2026.
Given the general unhappiness with the team’s likely failure to make the postseason this year, anything’s possible. But Cashman is probably safe for the immediate future.
Tampa Bay Rays: Team president Erik Neander is under contract through 2026, and GM Peter Bendix is completing only his second season as Neander’s alter-ego. Given the Rays’ success using a resource-limited system, change in Tampa will only occur if some other team offers one or both of them more money to leave.
Toronto Blue Jays: Team President Mark Shapiro is under contract through 2025, and GM Ross Atkins is tied up through 2026. Combine that with the fact that the Jays are in postseason contention and the situation in Toronto appears to be stable.