Blue Jays name Tony LaCava interim GM

Toronto Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro announced Monday that Tony LaCava will be the team's interim general manager.

"Tony is someone that I've known for over 15 years. A great baseball man," Shapiro said at his introductory press conference. "Tony's work contributed greatly to the team that's on the field right now, the team that had the incredible run this year. He's touched people throughout all parts of this organization and he has universal respect and admiration from those people. He's a great baseball man, a great evaluator."

LaCava had served as assistant general manager for the Blue Jays since 2007 and worked as a national crosschecker for the Cleveland Indians in 2002, when Shapiro was GM. He'll succeed former GM Alex Anthopoulos, who parted ways with the club last week, saying the Blue Jays were no longer the right fit.

Shapiro has yet to set a timetable for hiring a permanent GM, saying that he hopes to put together a diligent search in order to produce the best results for the team moving forward.

"That's obviously a critical hiring decision, and as we work through that process I want to be extremely thorough, ensuring that we arrive at the best person to lead the Toronto Blue Jays organization as the next general manager," he said.

Anthopoulos' tenure as GM in Toronto began in October 2009. The 38-year-old was named the Sporting News' Executive of the Year last week.