RealGM

CHICAGO – The future of Alex Anthopoulos as general manager is once again a hot-button talking point, but the matter that’s more immediately pressing and has far wider implications for the Toronto Blue Jays is the fate of president and CEO Paul Beeston.

Though he’s loathe to discuss it generally and declined comment Sunday, Beeston’s contract is believed to expire soon after the season ends, and given his role as the conduit between the team and owner Rogers Communications Inc., the uncertainty over his long-term status bears watching.

Perhaps hinting at his departure is the shrinking of his inner circle, as in recent months long-time executive assistant Sue Cannell (who hasn’t been replaced), and Howard Starkman, for decades his right-hand man and confidante, both retired. A key backer of his at the ownership level, Phil Lind, Rogers’ executive vice-president, regulatory and vice-chairman, is due to retire at the end of 2014.

Combined with Guy Laurence taking over as Rogers CEO from Nadir Mohamed, whom Beeston also had close ties to, last December, and the guard’s been changing all around him.

A couple of influential and well-connected members of the Toronto sports scene suggested the politicking among interested candidates to succeed Beeston as Blue Jays president has already begun. And intriguingly, Beeston is said to have lined up with the Tom Werner camp during the recent election to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner, and there’s some speculation he would have ended up back at Major League Baseball had Werner beaten out Rob Manfred.