Shapiro: 'It's nice to come in and inherit an MVP'

Toronto Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro has walked into a pretty good situation.

Shapiro took over a team coming off an American League East division title and its first trip to the ALCS since 1993. The Blue Jays' year was capped off Thursday with third baseman Josh Donaldson claiming the AL MVP over Mike Trout.

Donaldson received 23 of 30 first-place votes to become just the second player in franchise history to take home the honor, and is comfortably under team control through the 2018 season.

"It's nice to come in and inherit an MVP," Shapiro told MLB Network Radio.

It's not completely smooth sailing for Shapiro, however. Tasked with replacing the general manager following Alex Anthopoulos' surprising departure, and a lack of depth in the rotation with David Price leaving via free agency, Shapiro has plenty of work to do this winter.

"We need to creatively address depth both in position players but particularly with the starting pitching," Shapiro said.

The Blue Jays have already brought back one of the team's strongest performers from a year ago, agreeing to a two-year deal with right-hander Marco Estrada earlier this month.

Shapiro was linked to trade talks with his former team, the Cleveland Indians, earlier this week, with the two sides discussing the possibility of dealing an outfielder for starting pitching.

Marcus Stroman, R.A Dickey, and Estrada are all locks for the rotation to start next season, while Drew Hutchison, Roberto Osuna, and Aaron Sanchez are also candidates.