The first time Andrew Tinnish really got to know Tony LaCava it was in the classic scout setting: batting practice before an amateur baseball game. It was 2003 and Tinnish was just 27, in his first year as a Blue Jays area scout and, by his own admission, still trying to find his way in the profession.

LaCava, who joined the Toronto front office that season from Cleveland, already had more than a decade in the business and was widely regarded as a keen eye for talent.

Tinnish had been through scout school, but LaCava offered an extra-curricular education that day. He shared with Tinnish the intricacies of what he looked for in budding baseball talent, patiently and graciously showing him the ropes.

“It was really helpful,” says Tinnish, who has since climbed the Jays’ scouting ranks and for the last four seasons has served alongside LaCava as one of the team’s assistant general managers. “That’s just part of his personality, the way he is. He’s always looking to get better, but he’s also always looking to help others get better.”

Known as much for his humility and soft-spoken demeanour as he is for being a skilled evaluator, LaCava was named the Jays’ interim general manager Monday by Mark Shapiro, the organization’s new president and CEO.

LaCava, a 54-year-old Pittsburgh native who has been with the Jays for the last 13 years and has served as an assistant general manager since 2007, replaces — at least temporarily — his close friend, Alex Anthopoulos, who surprised the baseball world last week when he rejected a contract extension to stay in Toronto. Though Anthopoulos refused to divulge the specifics of his decision, it is believed to be due to a perceived loss of autonomy under Shapiro, a former GM who will assume a far more active role in baseball operations than his strictly business-oriented predecessor, Paul Beeston.

LaCava, who has interviewed for multiple GM jobs and reportedly turned down the chance to take the reins in Baltimore four years ago, was the most obvious short-term replacement for Anthopoulos. In fact, Shapiro introduced his promotion by saying it was “in the spirit of continuity.”

Shapiro, who actually hired LaCava as a scout for the Indians, called him a “great baseball man” whose work “contributed greatly to the team that’s on the field right now.”

With LaCava in place, Shapiro can at least be assured of a loyal and abiding lieutenant, who has now survived three front-office regimes in Toronto.

“I’m a Blue Jay, so whatever my seat on the bus is, that’s fine,” LaCava said following Shapiro’s 40-minute introductory news conference. “I’m prepared to do whatever.”

That LaCava’s first reaction to Anthopoulos’s news was to say, “Don’t leave,” tells you a lot about the man. For one, he’s the furthest thing from a power broker. LaCava said he was “humbled” to serve in an interim capacity and wasn’t upset with the impermanent title. “(Shapiro) could tell me I’d be cleaning up this mess after you guys leave and I’d do that. I’m good.”

LaCava described Anthopoulos as “a dear friend” and “like my brother,” adding he was “shocked” by his departure. “I’m going to miss him, but we do have to move forward.”

Tinnish praised LaCava’s calming influence in the team’s front office. “We’ll have meetings, whether it’s the draft or for free agency or trade deadline or whatever, and he’s like a rock. He’s very solid when we need to kind of get back in our lane or calm things down. He’s just got a good way about him to kind of keep things under control.”

LaCava started his career as a scout, but he has also worked in player development and, since 2003, in the front office. “He’s just a very well-rounded baseball guy,” Tinnish said. “He has experience in all different departments. Mix that with his personality and demeanour, it makes for a pretty valuable baseball person.”

As far as LaCava’s immediate off-season plans, there are options to pick up — Jose Bautista’s and Edwin Encarnacion’s for sure, with R.A. Dickey’s also likely — and pitching needs to address. But despite Shapiro’s stated focus to improve the organization’s prospective depth, don’t expect any major overhaul or dramatic rebuild. “When you’re in the window to win right now I don’t think you want to lessen your major-league club to build at the lower levels,” LaCava said. “... The primary goal for this off-season is to continue what we did this year and put a winner out there.”

Tony LaCava

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Age: 54

Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pa.

Playing career: Signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates as an undrafted free agent, but never made it out of the low minors.

Executive career: Hired as a scout by the California Angels in 1989, where he worked for 10 years before joining the Atlanta Braves as the national scouting supervisor; joined the Montreal Expos that same year and ran the farm system; hired by the Cleveland Indians in 2002 as the national cross-checker; joined the Jays in October 2002 as assistant to the general manager, promoted to assistant general manager in 2007.

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