Toronto Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos says he isn’t ready to talk about his future with the club.
His contract expires at the end of the month but he says “this isn’t the day to discuss that.”
The architect of Toronto’s first playoff season in 22 years met with the media today following the club’s exit from the post-season Friday night.
The Blue Jays failed to advance to the World Series after a gut-wrenching 4-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series.
Anthopoulos stressed it has been his decision to put his contract situation on the backburner during the playoffs to avoid it being a distraction.
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He will be negotiating with incoming president Mark Shapiro, who will replace the retiring Paul Beeston in the off-season.
The Anthopoulos deal is one of several items on the team’s to-do list.
Pending free agents include ace left-hander David Price, right-hander Marco Estrada and reliever Mark Lowe.
VIDEO: Alex Anthopoulos laments offensive performance in Game 6 of ALCS
The Jays struggled to cash in baserunners in the ALCS, finishing 4-for-41 with runners in scoring position in their four losses in the series.
“0-for-12 with runners in scoring position (in Game 6),” said Anthopoulos. “That’s really what it came down to. We were the best offensive team in the game and I would bet on our guys not going 0-for-12 very often, but it happens.”
Anthopoulos said the Jays were outplayed by the Royals.
“They deserve to be in the World Series,” he said.
Bolstered by Anthopoulos’s moves at the trade deadline, the Jays had a dream second half this season.
The acquisition of Price, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, outfielder Ben Revere, Lowe and veteran reliever LaTroy Hawkins added both star power and important role players to a lineup that had already been bolstered in the off-season with the signing of star Canadian catcher Russell Martin and third baseman Josh Donaldson, who went on to have an MVP-calibre season.
Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Donaldson combined for 120 homers, heading up an exciting lineup that scored 10-plus runs in a club-record 26 games.
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Toronto led the majors with a 48-23 record after all-star break, leading the American League in runs (405), home runs (117) and earned-run average (3.33) among other categories.
Remarkably, Toronto was 50-51 three days before the July 31 trade deadline – in fourth place in the AL East, eight games back.
As the team rose up the standings, so did attendance. The Jays had 27 sellouts this season including 20 of their last 21 games.
While he didn’t want to talk about his contract status, Anthopoulos is optimistic about the team’s future.
“I do think we’ve turned a corner as an organization,” he said. “I think we’re in a position to win for a long time.”
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