It's funny to think one of the candidates for MLB Executive of the Year was on the hot seat just a few short months ago. The 2015 season has been full of surprises and that's because contending teams such as the Toronto Blue Jays, Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers were active on the trade front.
For some, trades and free-agent signings will be the reason the Executive of the Year Award is in reach. For others, such moves didn't work out and it's the reason their team won't be making the playoffs this season (Padres, Red Sox, White Sox). ESPN Insider Jim Bowden ranked his top candidates who are expected to be in the running for the award and below we've provided a shorter list with who HNGN thinks will win.
3. Texas Rangers GM Jon Daniels
Daniels would have not been on this list earlier in the year, but neither would have the candidate we believe will win MLB Executive of the Year. The Rangers got off to a slow start even though they had one of the highest payrolls in baseball. In the competitive AL West, it appeared as if they'd be outmatched by the Los Angeles Angels, Houston Astros and Oakland Athletics and miss the postseason for the third consecutive year.
However, the Rangers supplanted the Astros last night to grab first place in the division for the first time all year. At 77-67, the Rangers have a good chance to hold on and claim their first division title since 2011. Texas has two games remaining against the Astros this week (and will face them again in a three-game series a week from tonight) in addition to upcoming matchups against some of the weakest AL clubs: Seattle Mariners, Oakland Athletics and Detroit Tigers. They'll close out the season against the Angels, and if they can hold on, Daniels will be a top candidate for his second Executive of the Year Award.
Daniels traded for pitchers Cole Hamels and Yovani Gallardo, which have proven to be of immense help after Yu Darvish was lost for the season. He also bolstered the team's outfield by trading for Josh Hamilton and Will Venable, signing Drew Stubbs and snagging Delino DeShields in the Rule 5 draft; added to the bullpen by acquiring Jake Diekman, Sam Dyson and Sam Freeman in trades; traded for Mike Napoli before the waiver trade deadline; hired manager Jeff Bannister, who is a candidate for AL Manager of the Year; and signed Colby Lewis, who is having a career season on the mound.
This team once looked doomed due to the onerous contracts of Elvis Andrus, Shin-Soo Choo and Matt Harrison, but they have risen from the embers and could be the 2015 AL West champs.
2. Kansas City Royals GM Dayton Moore
On the surface, you might say, "Well, how much work did Moore really have to do?" The Royals made the World Series last year and returned a majority of their best players, but they lost two crucial veterans in James Shields and Billy Butler.
Moore filled those vacancies by signing free agent Edinson Volquez, acquiring Johnny Cueto from the Cincinnati Reds, and signing DH Kendry Morales. Although Cueto has not been performing well since arriving in Kansas City, Volquez and Morales have been enormous contributors. Volquez is 13-8 with a 3.59 ERA in 30 starts and Morales is batting .289/.353/.468 with 68 runs scored, 17 home runs and 101 RBIs this season.
Compare that with Shields and Butler from last year:
Shields' 2014 Stats: 14-8 with a 3.21 ERA in 34 starts
Butler's 2014 Stats: .271/.323/.379 with 57 runs scored, 9 home runs and 66 RBIs in 161 games
Additionally, Moore added Ben Zobrist and Jonny Gomes in trades as well as Ryan Madson, Alex Rios and Kris Medlen with signings in the offseason.
Kansas City is the best team in the AL, and if Johnny Cueto picks up his play in the final two weeks of the season and in the playoffs, Moore's chances of winning will only increase.
1. Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos
Anthopoulos and manager John Gibbons were on the hot seat early on in the year when the team started 23-30. However, an 11-game win streak dug them out of that hole and they hovered around .500 until late July, which allowed Anthopoulos to make his big moves.
He orchestrated perhaps the most historic set of acquisitions prior to the MLB's non-waiver trade deadline. After signing catcher Russell Martin, first baseman Justin Smoak and acquiring Josh Donaldson from the Oakland Athletics and Marco Estrada from the Milwaukee Brewers before 2015, Anthopoulos added David Price, Troy Tulowitzki, Ben Revere, LaTroy Hawkins, Mark Lowe and Cliff Pennington during the season.
On top of boasting the best offense in the MLB, the Blue Jays are atop the AL East and lead the New York Yankees by three games. If all goes as planned, Toronto will capture their first division title and make the postseason for the first time since 1993, which was also the year of their last World Series title.
Perhaps the beneficial trades and signings overshadowed Anthopoulos' development of the organization's farm system. The 38-year-old did such an excellent job acquiring loads of young talent that the Blue Jays were able to trade top prospects Daniel Norris, Matt Boyd, Jairo Labourt, Jeff Hoffman, Miguel Castro, Jesus Tinoco, Kendall Graveman, Sean Nolin, Franklin Barreto, Jimmy Cordero, Alberto Tirado, and others and still maintain a good core of young players: Aaron Sanchez, Roberto Osuna, Marcus Stroman, Devon Travis, Dalton Pompey, Jonathan Harris, Anthony Alford, Max Pentecost and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
The Jays have a good balance of veterans and prospects, which will likely keep them contending for the foreseeable future.
"Incoming Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro won't join the team until their season is over, but when he does, his first order of business should be signing Anthopoulos to a five-year contract extension and plan a day to celebrate his first Executive of the Year Award," Bowden writes.
The only way Anthopoulos won't won win the award is if the Blue Jays collapse and miss the postseason, but based on the way they've been playing since the end of July, that doesn't seem likely at all.
One of the notable things going for him is the team's 21-year postseason drought. He'll be regarded as a hero if the Jays make the postseason and go on a run, which is exactly why he's the frontrunner for the award right now.
