Paul Beeston Wasn’t Surprised Alex Anthopoulos Walked Away from the Jays

It’s been nearly two months since Alex Anthopoulos unceremoniously walked away from the Blue Jays organization. The former Jays GM has clearly moved on, but with so many unanswered questions, many haven’t move on.

Not that we’re trying to open up old wounds, but I think a lot of fans are still wondering why Anthopoulos left a team that he finally helped construct into a contender. It turns out Alex Anthopoulos may have had an inkling all along that he wasn’t coming back.

Alex’s closest confidant, Paul Beeston made an appearance on Prime Time Sports earlier today. Among many things, Paul discussed the merits of re-signing David Price, the whirlwind season of 2015 and the new front office regime.

But to me, the most interesting thing Paul Beeston said in this interview pertained to Alex Anthopoulos, and Beeston’s answer when asked if he was surprised that Anthopoulos chose not to come back:

“Not really. He was committed to this year. He didn’t know what was going to happen this year. He didn’t know what direction the team was going. The only thing he knew was that I wasn’t going to be there.”

Aside from the initial “not really” by Beeston, there wasn’t much to go on. But to have the guy closest to Alex Anthopoulos say that he wasn’t shocked about transpired? That says a lot.

These two had a clear understanding of the inner workings of the Blue Jays organization. And after what happened in regards to ownership’s attempt to hire a new team president under Paul Beeston’s nose, that surely rubbed Alex and Paul the wrong way.

Many have long wondered whether Alex Anthopoulos knew the writing was on the wall a long time ago. His decision to exit as the General Manager of the Blue Jays seemed sudden, but the seed of doubt in Alex’s mind may have been planted long ago.

Image via Toronto Sun