Alex Anthopoulos
Anthopoulos in 2015
Atlanta Braves
President of baseball operations & General Manager
Born: (1977-05-25)May 25, 1977 (age 48) Montreal,Quebec, Canada
Teams
As general manager Toronto Blue Jays (2009–2015) Atlanta Braves (2017–present)
Career highlights and awards
Sporting News Executive of the Year (2015) World Series champion (2021)

Alex Anthopoulos (born May 25, 1977)^[1] is a Canadian professionalbaseball executive, currently serving asgeneral manager andpresident of baseball operations for theAtlanta Braves, which won the2021 World Series.

Anthopoulos got his start in professional baseball with theMontreal Expos organization in 2000.^[1][2] He was the seniorvice president of baseball operations andgeneral manager of theToronto Blue Jays ofMajor League Baseball (MLB) from 2010 to 2015, for whom he began as ascouting coordinator in 2003. In 2015, he was named theSporting NewsExecutive of the Year after the Blue Jays advanced to theplayoffs for the first time since 1993, reaching theAmerican League Championship Series (ALCS). However, his term with the Blue Jays ended on October 29, 2015, when he declined a five-year contract extension.^[3] He served for two years as vice president of baseball operations for theLos Angeles Dodgers.^[4]

In 2000, Anthopoulos was hired by theMontreal Expos as an unpaid intern, and worked sorting players' fan mail.^[5] After working in the mail room he would sit with the scouts at games and take notes, and was eventually moved to a scouting internship inFlorida.^[5] In 2002, he was promoted to the Expos' scouting coordinator. He would leave the team at the end of the2003 season, while working as the assistant scouting director.^[5]

Anthopoulos joined theToronto Blue Jays in late 2003, as their scouting coordinator.^[5] After the2005 season, he was promoted to assistantgeneral manager (AGM) underJ. P. Ricciardi.^[6] While he was serving as AGM, the Blue Jays acquiredJosé Bautista^[7] andEdwin Encarnación,^[8] each of whom unexpectedly experienced a career renaissance, establishing new levels of production and consistency that were key components of the Blue Jays' offense during Anthopoulos' time as GM. Bautista was the MLBhome run leader from2010–11, and, in each year from 2010 to 2015, was anAll-Star and hit at least 27 home runs.^[9] Encarnacion hit at least 34 home runs each year from 2012 to 2015.^[10]

This sectionmay betoo long and excessively detailed. Please consider summarizing the material.(March 2023)

Anthopoulos became the Blue Jays' general manager in October 2009, after Ricciardi was fired.^[11] He began his tenure as the general manager by playing a major role in one of the biggest trades in Blue Jays history,"The Doc Deal". In the deal, Anthopoulos tradedRoy Halladay to thePhiladelphia Phillies forKyle Drabek,Michael Taylor, andTravis d'Arnaud.^[12]

Anthopoulos was also instrumental in doubling the size of the Blue Jays' scouting department, growing it to 54 scouts in various positions.^[13] The 2010 draft, the first with Anthopoulos in charge, resulted in a highly successful draft with a number of players picked eventually enjoying significant playing careers in the majors, includingAaron Sanchez andNoah Syndergaard.^[13]

The Jays' first season with Anthopoulos at the helm resulted in an 85–77 record, good for fourth place in theAmerican League (AL)East division. The club hit a franchise-record 257home runs, the third-highest single-season total by any club in Major League history.^[14]

In January 2011, Anthopoulos completed a blockbuster trade by shipping another long-time face of the Blue Jays franchise,Vernon Wells, and the remaining US$86 million over the next four years to theLos Angeles Angels for catcherMike Napoli and outfielderJuan Rivera.^[15] He then sent Napoli to theTexas Rangers for pitcherFrank Francisco,^[16] and later traded Rivera to theLos Angeles Dodgers for aplayer to be named later or cash considerations.^[17] Due to the debacle of the Wells deal, Anthopoulos instituted a “five year policy” on player contracts, while also excluding performance bonuses, incentives, player options, no-trade clauses or opt-out clauses, in making these deals much more team friendly.^[18]

In July 2011, Anthopoulos made two successive trades to acquire center fielderColby Rasmus from theSt. Louis Cardinals. In the first, the Blue Jays traded pitching prospectZach Stewart and relieverJason Frasor to theChicago White Sox for starting pitcherEdwin Jackson and infielderMark Teahen.^[19] Jackson was then traded with outfielderCorey Patterson, and relief pitchersMarc Rzepczynski andOctavio Dotel to the Cardinals for Rasmus and relief pitchersBrian Tallet,P.J. Walters andTrever Miller.^[20]

Before the2012 Major League Baseball season, Anthopoulos was known to make trades in order to acquire supplemental draft picks. The most prominent example was when he acquiredMiguel Olivo, aType B free agent, and declined his club option the next day making Olivo a free agent.^[21] The Blue Jays gained a supplemental first-round draft pick when Olivo signed with theSeattle Mariners, takingDwight Smith, Jr.^[22]

In November 2012, Anthopolous completed a blockbuster deal with theMiami Marlins, acquiringshortstopJose Reyes,pitchersMark Buehrle andJosh Johnson, catcherJohn Buck, and infielder/outfielderEmilio Bonifacio in exchange for shortstopYunel Escobar, pitcherHenderson Alvarez, catcherJeff Mathis and four minor-league prospects. Cash was also sent to the Jays in the trade.^[23]

In December 2012, Anthopoulos acquired the 2012 National LeagueCy Young Award winnerR. A. Dickey in a trade with theNew York Mets that sent prospectsTravis d'Arnaud,Noah Syndergaard, minor leaguer Wuilmer Becerra and Buck to New York. Toronto also received catcherJosh Thole and minor league catcherMike Nickeas in the trade.^[24] As part of the transaction, the Blue Jays signed Dickey to an extension worth a total of $29 million over three years with a $12 million fourth year option.^[25]

In2013, the Blue Jays finished at 74–88, in last place in the AL East.^[26] Thenext year, they improved to 83–79 and third place.^[27]

During the 2014 offseason, Anthopoulos traded Canadian third basemanBrett Lawrie, along with three prospects, to theOakland Athletics forJosh Donaldson.^[28] In July2015, he acquiredTroy Tulowitzki andLaTroy Hawkins from theColorado Rockies in exchange forJose Reyes,Jeff Hoffman, andMiguel Castro.^[29] On July 30, he acquired star left-handed pitcherDavid Price from theDetroit Tigers in exchange forDaniel Norris,Matt Boyd, andJairo Labourt.^[30] The next day, Anthopoulos traded for outfielderBen Revere, and in August, acquired shortstopCliff Pennington.^[31][32] Price went 9–1 with a 2.30earned run average in74+1⁄3innings pitched for the Blue Jays.^[33] The Blue Jays, who had a 50–51 record on July 28, won 43 of their final 61 games to overtake theNew York Yankees and win the AL East division crown for their firstplayoff appearance in 22 seasons.^[34] With Donaldson, Bautista, and Encarnación (the latter two acquired by previous GM J.P. Ricciardi) each hitting at least 39 home runs in 2015,^[35] the Blue Jays led the major leagues in scoring at 5.50 runs per game.^[36] Toronto's season ended in anAmerican League Championship Series (ALCS) loss to theKansas City Royals.^[34] Donaldson was named the2015 American League Most Valuable Player.^[37]

Anthopoulos rejected a five-year extension from the Blue Jays organization on October 29, 2015, and did not publicly reveal the reasons for his decision. He later said "I just think there's certain things that should remain private and behind closed doors, and I know sometimes that's hard to hear and hard to understand. I just think it's the right thing for the organization and the ball club and everybody involved."^[38] There was some speculation that his departure was due to the belief that he would not have full autonomy under new president/CEOMark Shapiro. According toThe Globe and Mail, "The talk around the water cooler is that Anthopoulos wanted the same job and responsibility that he had under Beeston, who hired him as GM. That was having the ultimate say in all baseball-related decisions."^[38] Shapiro refuted these claims on November 1, stating "It's not about autonomy, it's about collective success". He also denied suggestions that he "scolded" Anthopoulos over several deadline trades involving Blue Jays' top prospects.^[39]

Toronto's combined win–loss record was 489–483 while Anthopoulos was GM.^[34] On October 29, 2015,Sporting News named himExecutive of the Year^[40] as selected by a panel of 47 major league executives.^[41]

On January 12, 2016, Anthopoulos was hired as the vice-president of baseball operations by theLos Angeles Dodgers.^[42]

On November 13, 2017, Anthopoulos was hired as the executive vice president and general manager of theAtlanta Braves after agreeing on a four-year contract.^[43] The Braves promoted Anthopoulos to president of baseball operations in February 2020, and extended his contract to the 2024 season.^[44][45] The Braves would go on to win the2021 World Series. On January 12, 2024, Anthopoulos and the Braves agreed to extend his contract through the 2031 season.^[46][47][48]

In April of 2019, Anthopoulos signedRonald Acuna Jr. to an extension through 2026 for $100,000,000. This deal included club options for 2027 and 2028.^[49] On February 5, 2021, Anthopoulos signedMarcell Ozuna through 2025 with some club options for 2026.^[50] In March of 2022, Anthopoulos completed a blockbuster trade acquiring first basemanMatt Olson from theOakland Athletics in exchange for four prospects: outfielderCristian Pache, catcherShea Langeliers, and right-handersRyan Cusick andJoey Estes.^[51] On August 1, 2022, the Braves announced that Anthopoulos signedAustin Riley to a ten-year contract extension, worth $212 million.^[52] Two weeks later, on August 16, Anthopoulos signedMichael Harris II through 2030 with some club options for 2031 and 2032.^[53] On October 10, 2022, Anthopoulos signed pitcherSpencer Strider to a six-year, $75 million deal that includes a $22 million option with a $5 million buyout for 2029.^[54] In December of 2022, Anthopoulos completed a trade acquiring catcherSean Murphy in a three-way trade with theOakland Athletics andMilwaukee Brewers that saw nine players switch teams.^[55]

Anthopoulos is ofGreek Canadian descent, born inMontreal,Quebec to John Anthopoulos, who owned a heating and ventilation company until his death in 1998.^[1][56] He is the youngest of three sons.^[56] Anthopoulos stopped playing sports as a teenager to focus on music, specifically the bass guitar. One of his brothers was a guitarist as well, and the other was a drummer and singer.^[57] Anthopoulos holds a degree ineconomics fromMcMaster University.^[2] Anthopoulos married Cristina in 2010,^[58][59] with whom he has two children, daughter Julia and son John.^[60][61]

Anthopoulos served as an advance scout for theGreek National Baseball Team for the2004 Summer Olympics; which finished in 7th place.

• Career statistics fromBaseball Reference (Minors)

• 1977 births
• Living people
• Anglophone Quebec people
• Atlanta Braves executives
• Baseball people from Quebec
• Canadian expatriate baseball people in the United States
• Canadian sports executives and administrators
• Canadian people of Greek descent
• Los Angeles Dodgers executives
• Major League Baseball general managers
• McMaster University alumni
• Montreal Expos personnel
• Montreal Expos scouts
• Sportspeople from Montreal
• Toronto Blue Jays executives
• Major League Baseball presidents of baseball operations

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