Toronto's creative deal with Gibbons vested on Jan. 1.
While you might have been kissing your significant other or raising a glass of champagne on New Year's, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons' contract option for the 2015 season vested the very second the clock struck midnight.
All business in Canada.
A unique clause in the Toronto skipper's contract stipulates that, as long he isn't fired, his contract is extended for another season at the beginning of every year, as Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith reports. It sounds a little strange, but to put it plainly, Gibbons has the job ... until he doesn't.
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He got off to a somewhat disappointing start in his first season calling the shots for the Jays. The team finished 74-88 under his guidance after Toronto was forced to replace 2012 manager John Farrell — who vacated the position in order to manage the division rival Red Sox.
For Gibbons and the Blue Jays' organization, operating on what functions as a perpetual two-year deal — that can, of course, be terminated at any time — takes some of the anxiety and guesswork out of the equation.
Other than Gibbons' innovative paperwork, Toronto has been relatively quiet so far this winter. However, that could change if the roaring silence coming from the Blue Jays front office is any indication that general manager Alex Anthopoulos is planning a surprise attack on the open market like he did last offseason when he acquired Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Josh Johnson from the Miami Marlins— but there's no conspicuous indication that is the case.
The team was briefly connected to Cubs' righty Jeff Samardzija in trade talks, and there have been whispers that the recently posted Masahiro Tanaka could be a target; but other than signing catcher Dioner Navarro, Gibbons' team has merely been the subject of rumors.
Next season, Gibbons' will attempt to lead the Jays to an improvement on their last-place finish in the AL East, and all he has to worry about when it comes to his contract is not getting fired.
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