J.P. Ricciardi

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John Paul (J.P.) Ricciardi (born September 26, 1959 in Worcester, Massachusetts) is the current Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager for the Toronto Blue Jays.

1 Early Career
2 Record as General Manager
3 Personal Information
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Early Career

After playing baseball in college and for two years in the minor leagues, Ricciardi became a coach in the New York Yankees farm system in the early 1980s before joining the Oakland Athletics organization in 1986 as a minor league instructor and a scout. By the early 1990s he had risen to the ranks of East Coast Scouting Supervisor and later National Crosschecker. Ricciardi made his break into the front office in 1996, when he became special assistant to Athletics general manager Sandy Alderson. Under new general manager Billy Beane, hired in 1997, Ricciardi's role became Director of Player Personnel.

Impressed by the success Ricciardi and Beane were having with the low-budget Athletics, the Toronto Blue Jays, stuck with similar budgetary constraints, sought Ricciardi's services after firing then-general manager Gord Ash. On November 14, 2001, Ricciardi was hired as general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays.

[edit] Record as General Manager

One of Ricciardi's first deals was to send hard-throwing reliever Billy Koch to the Athletics for upcoming third baseman Eric Hinske and pitcher Justin Miller. Over the next few years Ricciardi would develop a reputation for coziness with his old team, making deals for starting pitcher Cory Lidle in November 2002 and fellow starting pitcher Ted Lilly in November 2003. Despite this aggressive activity, and Hinske's Rookie of the Year award in 2002, the Blue Jays have not enjoyed the same small-market success as Ricciardi's Athletics have over the same span. After a surprising 2003 campaign which saw the emergence of Roy Halladay and Vernon Wells, the team suffered its worst season since 1980 in 2004, mainly due to injuries to key players such as Wells and star slugger Carlos Delgado. Delgado became a free agent in the off-season, and the Blue Jays did not seriously pursue re-signing him; the Florida Marlins eventually inked him to a contract.

Ricciardi signed a five-year contract with Toronto after the 2002 season. His contract was extended to 2010 after the 2005 season.

Ricciardi was given more freedom to move after Blue Jays owner Ted Rogers expanded the team's payroll to $210 million over three years prior to the 2005 season. After the season (in which the Blue Jays posted an 80-82 record), Ricciardi began improving Toronto's pitching, signing free agent starter A.J. Burnett and closer B.J. Ryan. He also secured two big bats in first baseman Lyle Overbay and slugging third baseman Troy Glaus via the trading block, and signed Gold Glove-winning catcher Bengie Molina as well. The additions paid large dividends for the team in 2006, as the Blue Jays finished second in the tough American League East with an 87-75 record. It was the first time Toronto had finished above third in the division since 1998.

During the 2006-07 offseason, Ricciardi balked at resigning Justin Speier, Frank Catalanotto and Bengie Molina. However, he made it his goal to retain left-hander Ted Lilly and sign former Seattle Mariners right-hander Gil Meche. Ultimately, when Lilly signed with the Chicago Cubs and Meche signed with the Kansas City Royals, Ricciardi signed three discount pitchers who spent significant portions of 2006 on the Disabled List: John Thomson, Tomo Ohka and Victor Zambrano.

Seeking to upgrade the everyday lineup as well, Ricciardi signed a two-year contract with experienced slugger and designated hitter Frank Thomas. Thomas's contract contains a possible third year, at which point, Thomas would be 41 years old. Ricciardi also signed veteran shortstop Royce Clayton as a "stopgap" measure to shore up the middle infield for the 2007 season.