TORONTO – It all had the potential to make for a somewhat awkward conversation. There was Alex Anthopoulos, general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, at least until Oct. 31, sitting at a podium answering questions about the future of the ballclub in 2016 and beyond.

A tough spot, no doubt, for the man who pulled off a week of trades for the ages in late July that propelled the team to its first playoff berth since 1993. Or was it?

Since Mark Shapiro was named as the new president and CEO of the Blue Jays in late August, speculation had run rampant over if and when a new contract for Anthopoulos would be announced. After all, it seemed the GM's performance in the week leading up to the trade deadline had removed any doubts about his future in Toronto. However, no announcement came.

But, as Anthopoulos explained to a large group of reporters on hand at his season- ending press conference Monday, he wasn't interested in addressing his own future until the 2015 season had run its course. Negotiating a contract in the midst of the team's first run to the playoffs in 22 years, Anthopoulos felt, was not the right move.

"I can't speak highly enough of Mark Shapiro, Rogers Communications, they've given me that respect and they've given me that time," Anthopoulos explained. "That [the contract] will be addressed at the appropriate time; the appropriate time is not today. But I can't stress that enough that it was my desire to let the postseason go on, let everyone enjoy what we were doing and certainly not distract from what we were trying to do."

Anthopoulos said having his immediate future unsettled wasn't stressful or a distraction. He was too busy focusing on the team.

"No, this was such an important year with what we had going on and it was important that we could all spend our time trying to win games, also trying to enjoy it," he said. "This was my choice because I thought it was important to the organization, to the players, to everybody else to not have any distractions, to not take away from what we were trying to do and now we're getting started for going forward for 2016."

Don't take his willingness to defer the process as an indication that he is looking to move on though. Anthopoulos and his family live in Toronto. He once again reaffirmed his love for the team and the city. He said he has spoken to Shapiro since his hiring was announced but that his contractual status would be addressed in time.



Shapiro officially takes over from Paul Beeston once the long-time CEO's contract expires on Oct 31. One would expect a resolution relatively quickly on Anthopoulos's future. The MLB general managers meetings are scheduled for Nov. 9-12 in Boca Raton, Fla. Free agency begins five days after the World Series ends and the Blue Jays will be looking to add players. They club also has several key players on the current roster whose status must be addressed quickly.

In the meantime, Anthopoulos's contractual status is not stopping him from forging ahead.

"We continue to do the job that we always have; continue to plan the way we always have," he said. "I've started going through free agency, trades, that continues at all times."

He had the tone of a man who wanted to be back and was quite confident he would be. When the questions about 2016 did come up, Anthopoulos answered like he will be the one ultimately making the baseball decisions.

Coming up six wins shy of a World Series, the Blue Jays are set from a position player standpoint to be competitive next year. Apart from Dioner Navarro, every other position player of consequence is under club control. While he insisted it's not the plan to make changes to that group, Anthopoulos stopped short of guaranteeing it in the event an opportunity to improve presents itself.

"The one thing we won't do is get complacent," he said. "As we sit here today, we have our offensive team intact but that's not to say that we're going to ignore trying to get better. I don't have any doubts that we are going to be a strong offensive club. That said, we wouldn't rule out some changes to the position players side.

"I'm not saying that's part of the plan. We had Dioner (Navarro) last year as our starter, I know nobody felt there was a need to make a change there and we didn't have plans to make a change but Russell was the one player that we would go out and get if we could."

The biggest questions linger in the starting rotation. David Price and Marco Estrada are free agents. The team has expressed a willingness for both to return but there is certainly no guarantee.



"I think we'll certainly be in the game but again with free agency you just don't know," Anthopoulos said about Price. "He was great for us. Can't say enough. He pitched four times against New York, he won three of those games, could have won the fourth. He was a huge part of us getting to the post season, winning the division and also, a big part of making the culture in the clubhouse even stronger than it had been. I know he's very open to being back here but where that goes, I have no idea at this time."

As for Estrada, who was arguably the Blue Jays most consistent pitcher once he got into the rotation in May, Anthopoulos said, "I reiterated to him that we'd like to have him back. I think that's stating the obvious there. He would like to be back so it's a great starting. I'm optimistic and hopeful that he's going to be here going forward. With free agency you can't guarantee anything, but the fact that both sides have a willingness to have it get done, we're going to do everything we can to have him back here."

R.A. Dickey, 40, has a club option at $12 million for 2016. The last memory he left in 2015 was a disappointing start in Game 4 of the ALCS, lasting just 1.2 innings while allowing five runs, four of them earned.

But given how well he pitched in the second half of the season and his ability to eat up innings, Dickey may be a gamble the Blue Jays will have to take given the uncertainty in their rotation.

"I think R.A. has put himself in a very good position," said Anthopoulos. "I know that last playoff start didn't go the way he wanted, but the start before against the Rangers we had a chance to be eliminated that game and he stepped up for us. And the way he pitched in the second half of the year, we don't win the AL East and get to the playoffs without what he did for us."

Mark Buehrle is a free agent and not likely to return. Drew Hutchison was inconsistent and struggled mightily late in the season. He will have to prove himself once again come spring training to reclaim a spot in the rotation. The only guarantee to pitch in the Jays starting rotation next season at this point is Marcus Stroman.

Depending on what gets done over the off-season, the Blue Jays do have a couple of options internally in Aaron Sanchez and Roberto Osuna. Sanchez put together a 5-4 record in eleven starts before an injury cost him six weeks. Upon his return, out of necessity, he reprised his role as the setup man – a spot he excelled at as a September call up in 2014.

"Long term we do view both of them as starters, but at the same time we're in a position where we have a chance to win," said Anthopoulos. "That's something that we're going to need to balance and stay open-minded throughout the winter to see what comes up."

Removing either from the bullpen would only shift weakness from the starting rotation to the bullpen. The fact remains the Blue Jays will need to acquire pitching in the off-season. Whether it's Anthopoulos who will be the man doing it, we will soon find out.