Mark Shapiro is running the Toronto Blue Jays, just like he used to run the front office show in Cleveland.
And there's a whole lot more Cleveland connection than that happening in Toronto.
The ALDS-winning Blue Jays have six players who were formerly members of the Guardians' organization:
- Shane Bieber
- Ernie Clement
- Andres Gimenez
- Nathan Lukes
- Anthony Santander
- Myles Straw
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Bieber is the most well-known and the most recently acquired.
The Blue Jays got Bieber from the Guardians before the trade deadline despite Bieber not having pitched this season yet as he recovered from Tommy John surgery. Bieber is healthy now and a part of the playoff rotation.
Clement couldn't stick with Cleveland as a utility infielder, and not with Oakland either, but he's blossomed into a dynamic fielder and contact hitter this season.
Gimenez was a great fielding second baseman for the Guardians and has taken that skill to Toronto.
Straw was a fan favorite for his speed and centerfield defense in Cleveland.
Santander was a promising prospect who needed to bounce around to other organizations before panning out.
And Lukes was a seventh-round pick of Cleveland in 2015 who really never broke out in MLB until this season for the Blue Jays.
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There's not some immense significance to this. Mostly, it's just pretty cool.
It also gives Cleveland fans a team to root for in the ALCS, especially now that the Blue Jays knocked off the hated Yankees.
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