MLB Insider Believes Blue Jays Manager Could Lose His Job at Seasons End
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The Toronto Blue Jays are 9-7 to begin the season, which puts them at the top of the American League East.
Being only two games over .500 and at the top of the division is not something that will last. The American League East is one of the best divisions in the MLB, and there is going to be a team or two that will inevitably finish with 90-plus wins.
With that in mind, the Blue Jays are playing well enough right now, but they need to get a lot better.
They are coming off a season in which they won just 74 games. That came a year after Toronto won 89 games, but lost in the American League Wild Card series.
Those two seasons came under manager John Schneider. Schneider also led the team to the playoffs in 2022 after taking over for Charlie Montoyo halfway through the year.
Considering the outcomes of the two-and-a-half seasons Schneider has led, he has not been a bad manager.
Still, MLB insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required) believes Schneider could be in danger of losing his job at the end the year.
Now, the job loss is not 100% the fault of the skipper. Toronto has been unhappy with their team president and general manager recently.
Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins are both at the discretion of the team at the end of the year. Their contracts are up, and Rosenthal mentions that the team has to make the playoffs if these two are going to retain their jobs.
That kind of pressure on the front office will trickle down to the manager of the team. Schneider is spoken highly of by the both Shapiro and Atkins, but a new front office might not be on the same page.
It is common for a front office overhaul to include the manager. That means Schneider's job depends largely on whether or not Toronto makes the playoffs this season.
Now, the Blue Jays have the talent to compete in the American League and in their division.
They just made Vladimir Guerrero Jr a Blue Jay for life, Bo Bichette is a great shortstop and George Springer is off to a hot start in 2025. They also made two big pickups in the offseason in Andres Gimenez and Anthony Santander.
A big trade mid-season could be what makes the difference for this team, especially on the pitching staff.
The Blue Jays have the talent to make the playoffs this year. If they don't, expect there to be some lengthy discussions regarding Schneider's job status with the team.
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Cameron Zunkel is a sports writer from the western suburbs of Chicago. He played Division-II baseball at the University of Illinois at Springfield where he earned a masters degree in Communication. Cameron also played independent league baseball for the Joliet Slammers and Schaumburg Boomers of the Frontier League. He has been in journalism since 2022 and has a passion for baseball specifically, but he enjoys all sports. His other work includes writing sports betting articles for ClutchPoints. In his free time, you can catch Cam at the gym, on the golf course, or coaching the youth in the beautiful sport of baseball.