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Long-time assistant general manager Tony LaCava has been tapped as the Blue Jays' interim general manager, according to reports by Sportsnet's Jeff Blair, Jamie Campbell, and Shi Davidi.
Source: Tony LaCava named GM of #BlueJays.
— Jamie Campbell (@SNETCampbell) November 2, 2015
LaCava, 54, was born in Pittsburgh and played a handful of games in the low minors in the Pirates organization in 1983 and 1984 after signing as a non-drafted free agent. After his brief playing career he moved to a scouting position with the Angels in 1989, rising to regional cross-checker in 1996. He went to the Braves as their national scouting supervisor for the 2000 season before being named as the Expos' director of player development that September. He was then hired by Mark Shapiro to be the Indians' national crosschecker for the 2002 season before arriving in Toronto as an assistant to general manager to J.P. Ricciardi before being promoted to assistant general manager four seasons later. He was elevated to the position of vice president, baseball operations in 2011.
He has a strong background in scouting--he helped Shapiro acquire Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips, and Lee Stevens in the Bartolo Colon trade--but he also was an (relative) early adopter of advanced metrics. According to Nick Ashbourne's findings, he has had good success finding talent through trades, but his draft history has been spotty.
My piece on Shapiro's track record: https://t.co/39d4TomZVs Excellent job finding unappreciated talent in trades. Drafting? No so good.
— Nick Ashbourne (@Nick_Ashbourne) November 2, 2015
LaCava interviewed for the Angels' general manager position earlier this offseason but did not get the job. His name has frequently been floated around in general manager searches, especially after he declined the Orioles' job offer in 2011.
New president and CEO Mark Shapiro will be holding an introductory press conference at 2 pm Eastern, and hopefully at that point he will discuss how "interim" LaCava's appointment will be.