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Blue Jays Extend President & CEO Mark Shapiro For Another Five Years

Shapiro passed on opportunities so he can complete his rebuild with the Blue JaysGETTY IMAGES

Blue Jays President & CEO Mark Shapiro became the team's "first big signing of the off-season," as he signed a 5-year extension with Rogers Communications, according to Rob Longley of the TORONTO SUN. The stability associated with retaining Shapiro is "not to be diminished," but it starts the "clock running on the next and arguably biggest phase of his tenure." Shapiro's "self-sculpted mandate" since his hire in '15 was to "build a sustainable winner from the ground up." It was "delicate business" at first, "taking the reins from popular executives Paul Beston and Alex Anthopoulos." The '20-21 offseason brings the team to the "money stage of the restructuring -- both in terms of it being time to spend it, and for the Jays front office to come through in landing some high-profile additions." The farm system is in "good shape." The young core that has been "groomed by the Jays' player-development process" and "contending status is within reach." Longley: "In other words, it's go time." It has "long been suspected that Shapiro has had opportunities outside of Toronto, so staying here wasn't a given" (TORONTO SUN, 1/14).

THE LONG HAUL: SPORTSNET.ca's Shi Davidi notes this extension "positions Shapiro to be one of the team's most impactful executives ever." Shaprio now has the "runway to fully shed his tumultuous arrival and build an enduring legacy by effectively leveraging the club's enviable young core." What he does from this point forward "will define his tenure, and the Blue Jays' future well into the next decade." Ownership's decision to double down on Shapiro's leadership is "especially pivotal right now" (SPORTSNET.ca, 1/13).

WORTHWHILE INVESTMENT? In Toronto, Cathal Kelly writes in baseball terms, Shapiro's first five years "have been a bit of a dud." He was given a great team, "turned it into a bad team and recently levelled it off into a decent team." But in business terms, Shapiro has been a "comprehensive success." He has "cut costs, worked a deal for renovated spring training facilities, spearheaded improvements to the existing ballpark and pushed forward the agenda for a new one." He has surrounded himself with "loyalists and though he tries to avoid answering for or explaining the Jays' baseball decisions, no serious one gets made without his say-so." The only thing Shapiro has "as yet been unable to achieve as the top baseball executive in Canada is building a top baseball team" (GLOBE & MAIL, 1/14).

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