Senior vice-president of baseball operations and general manager Alex Anthopoulos is leaving the Toronto Blue Jays after turning down a contract extension.
 
The news comes less than a week after the team was eliminated from the American League Championship Series.

According to TSN Senior Correspondent Rick Westhead, the Blue Jays offered Anthopoulos a three-year contract extension within the past week, which included a mutual option for a fourth season and would have significantly increased Anthopoulos’s salary.

Westhead adds that Anthopoulos informed Rogers executives in a meeting Wednesday afternoon that he would not return to the team for the 2016 season.

The Montreal-born 38-year-old was promoted from assistant general manager to the GM job on Oct. 3, 2009 after the firing of J.P. Ricciardi.

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In five full seasons (2010-14) with Anthopoulos as architect, the Blue Jays compiled a record of 489-483. They finished fourth three times under Anthopoulos and last once before winning the division at 93-69 this year.

Anthopoulos was no stranger to making blockbuster deals when opportunities presented themselves. His very first was the Roy Halladay trade, where the Blue Jays ace was sent to the Philadelphia Phillies for Kyle Drabek, Michael Taylor, and Travis d'Arnaud.
 
In January 2011, Anthopoulos got rid of one of the Jays' worst contracts when he sent a declining Vernon Wells and the remaining $86 million of his seven-year deal to the Los Angeles Angels.
 
In November, 2012, he acquired Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Josh Johnson in a massive trade with the Miami Marlins. Three days later he signed free agent Melky Cabrera to a two-year contract and the following day traded for 2012 National League Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey.

Those trades made the Blue Jays World Series favourites in Las Vegas for the 2013 season, but the team ended up struggling to a 74-88 record instead.

Anthopoulos will likely best be remembered by Toronto fans for his acquisition of Josh Donaldson last off-season from the Oakland Athletics for Brett Lawrie, Kendall Graveman, Sean Nolin and prospect Franklin Barreto. He also pulled off a trade deadline move where he acquired Troy Tulowitzki, David Price, Ben Revere, Mark Lowe and LaTroy Hawkins.