Ross_Atkins_(baseball)

Ross Atkins (baseball)

Ross Atkins (baseball)

Baseball player

Dannon Ross Atkins (born August 7, 1973) is an American baseball executive. On December 3, 2015, he was named the general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, after having worked for the Cleveland Indians for 15 years.

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Playing career

Atkins was a pitcher at Coral Gables Senior High School in Coral Gables, Florida, a city adjacent to Miami. After graduating in 1991, Atkins was a pitcher at Wake Forest University, and was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 69th round of the 1994 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign. In 1993, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[1][2] In the 1995 Major League Baseball draft, the Cleveland Indians selected him in the 38th round, and he signed with the team.[3] He played 5 seasons in Cleveland's minor league organization before retiring, compiling a career 37–32 win–loss record, 4.13 earned run average (ERA), and 340 strikeouts in 512 innings pitched.[3]

Executive career

Cleveland Indians

The Indians hired Atkins in 2001 as assistant director of player development, and was promoted to director of Latin American operations in 2003. In 2006, they promoted him to director of player development.[4] The Indians promoted Atkins to vice president of player personnel after the 2014 season.[5]

Toronto Blue Jays

Mark Shapiro, who was hired as the Blue Jays' team president and CEO on October 31, 2015, hired Atkins as general manager on December 3.[6] He replaced Tony LaCava, who served as interim GM in November. During the offseason leading into the 2016 season, Atkins made several moves, including selecting Joe Biagini in the Rule 5 draft, trading Ben Revere to the Washington Nationals for Drew Storen, and signing several players to minor league contracts with invitations to spring training.[7][8] In his first draft as GM, Atkins selected T. J. Zeuch in the first round.[9] Atkins made several additions to the Blue Jays roster prior to the trade deadline, acquiring Melvin Upton Jr., Joaquín Benoit, Scott Feldman, Francisco Liriano, and others, which aided the Blue Jays in making the postseason for the second consecutive season with an 89-73 record.[10][11]

Atkins' second season was a disappointing one for the Jays. They finished 76-86 despite early season hopes of a third consecutive playoff berth. The 2018 season saw more of the same, as the Jays stumbled to a 73-89 record and a second straight season out of the postseason leading to Atkins beginning a rebuild of the roster.

On April 7, 2021, it was announced that the Blue Jays organization signed Atkins to a five year contract extension, to the end of the 2026 season.[12][13]

References

  1. [1]
    Eldred, Rich (June 10, 1993). "Teams Ready for Cape League Season". Yarmouth Register. Yarmouth, MA. p. 11.
  2. [2]
    "Player Stats". Cape Cod Baseball League. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
  3. [3]
    "Ross Atkins Register Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  4. [4]
    "Indians name Ross Atkins director of player development". Cleveland Indians. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  5. [5]
    "Cleveland Indians promote Ross Atkins, Carter Hawkins, Paul Gillispie in front office". cleveland.com. 31 October 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  6. [6]
    Kruth, Cash (December 3, 2015). "Atkins named Blue Jays' general manager". MLB.com. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  7. [7]
    Chisholm, Gregor (December 10, 2015). "Blue Jays take Biagini in Rule 5 Draft". MLB.com. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  8. [8]
    Ladson, Bill (January 8, 2016). "Nats land Revere, send Storen to Blue Jays". MLB.com. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  9. [9]
    Nicholson-Smith, Ben (June 9, 2016). "Blue Jays select RHP T.J. Zeuch with first round draft pick". Sportsnet. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  10. [10]
    Kennedy, Brendan (August 5, 2016). "Meet your newest Toronto Blue Jays". thestar.com. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  11. [11]
    "Blue Jays clinch berth in wild-card game, set to host Orioles". Sportsnet. October 2, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  12. [12]
    "Blue Jays sign GM Ross Atkins to 5-year extension | CBC Sports".
  13. [13]
    "Blue Jays give Atkins, Shapiro rare long-term runway to shape their legacy".
Preceded by Toronto Blue Jays general manager
2015–present		 Succeeded by
TBA
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