Mark Shapiro and the Blue Jays Agree to an Extension

The Toronto Blue Jays have come to a contract extension with Mark Shapiro. Shapiro serves as the Blue Jays President and CEO. Rogers News was the first to report the extension on Twitter.

Rogers announces five-year contract extension for @BlueJays President & CEO @MarkShapiro pic.twitter.com/nqgHhp64lw

— Rogers News (@AboutRogers) January 13, 2021

Shapiro was named to his current role in August of 2015. At that time, he succeeded then President and CEO Paul Beeston. Prior to that, Shapiro had worked in various roles around baseball for a total of 24 years. His mot recent gig was with the Cleveland Indians where he was the team’s President for five seasons.

Since taking over as the Blue Jays main executive, the team has made the playoffs three times. The first playoff appearance came in 2015 when Toronto squared off against the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series. Following that season, the team made it to the ALCS once again in 2016 against the aforementioned Indians. Finally, the third playoff appearance came as a surprise last year when they matched up against the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Wild Card Game.

Looking Ahead for the Toronto Blue Jays

After last season’s surprise playoff appearance, the Toronto Blue Jays look poised to make some noise in the American League East once again this year. The team is likely to be very aggressive in free agency this offseason. Possible free agent targets include starting pitcher Trevor Bauer and outfielder George Springer.

While only time will tell what ends up transpiring this offseason, the Blue Jays do have a very exciting young core of players. The next goal will be to added some veteran leadership to the team’s roster.

With the extension of Mark Shapiro, the team has fortified part of the leadership of their front office for the foreseeable future.

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Players Mentioned: Trevor Bauer, George Springer