Anthony F. LaCava (born May 21, 1961) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dire ...

for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

, currently serving as their Senior Vice President, Player Personnel. In 2015, he served as the interim

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

and vice president of baseball operations for the

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB), succeeding Alex Anthopoulos. LaCava was later replaced by

Ross Atkins Ross Michael Atkins (born 3 November 1989) is an English football goalkeeper. Career Club career Born in Derby Atkins came up through the youth system at Championship club Derby County and was sent out on loan to Conference North side Southpo ...

Playing career

LaCava attended Central Catholic High School in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, and played for the school's baseball team. As a senior in 1979, Central Catholic won the state championship. He signed with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

as an undrafted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 1983. He hit .302/.386/.409 in 21 games for the 1983

GCL Pirates The Florida Complex League Pirates are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Pirates. The team plays its h ...

in a utility role and was 0-for-11 with two walks for the

Greenwood Pirates The Greenwood Pirates were a minor league baseball team in Greenwood, South Carolina, from 1981 to 1983. The team was an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the South Atlantic League. The club lasted three seasons before moving to Savannah, Geo ...

. In 1984, LaCava batted .153/.268/.161 in 46 games for the

Macon Pirates Macon may refer to: Places Belgium *Macon, Belgium France *Mâcon ** Ancient Diocese of Mâcon **Mâcon, another name for the Mâconnais wine from that region United States of America * Macon, Alabama * Macon, Georgia *Macon, Illinois *Macon, ...

to end his playing career.

Executive career

In 1989, LaCava was hired by the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

as a scout, where he remained for 10 years. In 2000, he joined the Atlanta Braves as their national scouting supervisor. Later that year LaCava joined the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

as director of player development. While working with the Expos, LaCava became acquainted with advanced metrics through contact with Baseball Prospectus writers. As a result, he used advanced stats like xFIP and BABIP in his analysis of a player. He joined the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

in 2002 as a national crosschecker. In the fall of 2002, the Toronto Blue Jays named him as an assistant to the general manager, then

J. P. Ricciardi John Paul Ricciardi (born September 26, 1959) is a Major League Baseball executive currently serving as a special advisor to the president of baseball operations with the San Francisco Giants. He previously served as the general manager of the Tor ...

. He was moved up to assistant GM in October 2007. Alex Anthopoulos also made LaCava the director of player development in 2009. LaCava was considered a candidate to become GM for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

, but turned down their offer in order to stay with the Blue Jays. After the 2015 season, Anthopoulous opted not to remain with the Blue Jays. On November 2, 2015, LaCava was named the Blue Jays' vice president of baseball operations and interim general manager by new team president Mark Shapiro. Shapiro hired

as the permanent general manager on December 3, 2015, and LaCava was promoted to senior vice president of baseball operations and assistant general manager.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lacava, Tony 1961 births Living people Toronto Blue Jays executives Montreal Expos executives Cleveland Indians scouts California Angels scouts Gulf Coast Pirates players Greenwood Pirates players Macon Pirates players Sportspeople from Pittsburgh Baseball players from Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School (Pittsburgh) alumni