Rogers give Mark Shapiro a 5-year contract extension

Not the big free-agent signing Blue Jays fans have been waiting for, but a signing.

Rogers announced that they have given Mark Shapiro a 5-year contract extension. No details on dollar figures were given, but I’d imagine he’ll continue being a wealthy man.

I don’t think it will be a surprise to anyone. Mark and Ross Atkins have spent the last five years rebuilding the team, taking it from one of the oldest teams in the MLB to one of the youngest, building up the farm system, and making changes to player development.

Getting to the playoffs in last year’s shortened and strange season seems to have moved up the timeline to become a contender by a year or two and the pressure has been on to make big additions to the team. The pressure seems to be growing by the day as players come off the board.

I like that there will be consistency, that we know who is in charge. I’m sure that the last couple of years has been eye-opening for Shapiro, learning the special issues involved with getting free-agents to sign with the lone Canadian team in the MLB. And dealing with everything brought on by the Covid pandemic must have given Shapiro many sleepless nights.

It is good to see that he’s still wanting to continue building the Blue Jays.

I imagine Atkins will be getting an extension in the next few days.