Before he joined the Dodgers last week, the Yankees spoke to former Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos about a front office position, Brian Cashman told Brendan Kuty. The two sides actually met at some point, so this wasn’t just a cursory phone call or something like that. There was legitimate interest.
Anthopoulos, 38, served as Blue Jays GM from October 2009 though October 2015. He rejected a five-year contract extension after the team named Mark Shapiro their new team president, reportedly because he felt his authority within the organization had been diminished. Anthopoulos had been with Toronto since 2003.
The Yankees lost assistant GM Billy Eppler earlier this offseason, when he was named Angels GM. Eppler had been Brian Cashman’s right hand man. Pro scout Tim Naehring was promoted to replace Eppler. Right now Cashman has two assistants (Jean Afterman, Michael Fishman) and a small army of advisors, including Naehring, Gene Michael, and Jim Hendry.
It’s not surprising the Yankees reached out to Anthopoulos. They did the same when Ben Cherington stepped down as Red Sox GM last year, and they’re always looking to add smart people to the front office. He would have helped fill the void following Eppler’s departure. No doubt. Anthopoulos instead took a long-term deal with the Dodgers and is now their vice president of baseball operations.
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