Blue Jays' Shapiro still hoping for extension: 'I want to remain here'

Toronto Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro is still hopeful of agreeing to a contract extension with the team before the end of 2025.

"It's not appropriate for me to comment beyond the fact that ... I want to remain here, and I can also say that both Edward (Rogers, team chairman) and Tony (Staffieri, Rogers Communications president) have been reciprocal in that desire," Shapiro told reporters Tuesday when asked about his future, according to Sportsnet's Shi Davidi.

Shapiro's currently working on a five-year extension he originally signed in January 2021.

The 58-year-old executive joined Canada's lone MLB team after the 2015 season, replacing longtime president Paul Beeston. He inherited a club that had just ended a 22-year playoff drought with a run to the 2015 ALCS.

Under Shapiro's watch, the Blue Jays embarked on an extensive renovation of Rogers Centre, turning the aging stadium from a multipurpose facility into a more modern, baseball-only ballpark. The team's spring training complex in Dunedin, Florida, also received a long-overdue facelift.

However, the team's on-field success during the tenure of both Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins - who was hired by Shapiro two months into his tenure - has been mixed. Despite developing homegrown stars like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette and luring several marquee free agents to Toronto, the Blue Jays have been swept out of the wild-card series in their three playoff appearances this decade.

Atkins' contract is set to expire after next season.

The Blue Jays enter play Tuesday holding the AL's best record, one year after finishing last in the division.