The Toronto Blue Jays will name Mark Shapiro as the new team president, per Jon Heyman of cbssports.com. The announcement is expected to come early next week.
Shapiro replaces Paul Beeston, who is retiring after this season. Beeston is expected to remain with the team through the season, which means Shapiro may not actually take over until next season.
The 48-year old Shapiro is a two-time winner of Sporting News’ Executive of the Year award, and has previously served as the GM, farm Director, and assistant farm director for the Cleveland Indians. He currently serves as Cleveland’s team president.
Shapiro stands to inherit a strong team in this year’s model of the Jays. Toronto is currently 18 games over .500 and appears poised for its first playoff berth since 1993. The Jays boast baseball’s best offense and have slugged their way to the top of the AL East. In fact, Toronto has lost just five games in the month of August. Since acquiring pitcher David Price and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki around the trade deadline, the Blue Jays have appeared all but unstoppable. And with Marcus Stroman looking set to return in September, the team would seem to be serious contenders for a World Series title.
The Indians, on the other hand, are three games under .500 and are stuck in third place in the AL Central. While not technically out of the playoff race, it would take an uncommon effort, and an uncommon collapse by the Kansas City Royals, for them to get there. While the Indians have had very good teams under Shapiro, who has served as the team’s president since 2010, it is clear that, at the moment, he is moving into a better situation in terms of championship odds.
Shapiro, who got the Indians to outperform their low payroll, will have a lot to play with in Toronto. In addition to an already playoff-caliber roster, he will have a much larger payroll to work with. If his tenure in Cleveland is any indication, Jays fans should expect good things to come for the team.
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