The Toronto Blue Jays, now in fourth place of the American League East division and just two games ahead of the red-hot Baltimore Orioles, made a shocking decision on Wednesday morning.
They decided to fire manager Charlie Montoyo.
They released a statement explaining the situation:
Statement from the Toronto Blue Jays: pic.twitter.com/mSylN7TyDE
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) July 13, 2022
The Blue Jays’ front office didn’t like the direction the clubhouse and the dugout were taking, so they chose to act now and avoid losing further ground in the race for the playoffs.
Bench coach John Schneider was promoted to interim manager and Casey Candaele is now the bench coach.
A Disappointing Tenure
Montoyo was first appointed as the Jays’ skipper before the 2019 season, one in which they didn’t compete and finished with a 67-95 record.
However, in 2020, the Blue Jays started delivering on the promise they had for years and became one of the top up-and-coming squads in the American League.
They were on the verge of making the playoffs last year, but failed in the last weekend of the season.
Now, after a rather disappointing 46-42 start, he has been relieved of his duties as manager.
Overall, he compiled a 236-236 record in parts of four seasons: .500 ball.
In the postseason, he didn’t win and lost two games back in 2020, when they lost the AL Wild Card Series to the Tampa Bay Rays.
For a team that has Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Teoscar Hernandez, George Springer, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, Alek Manoah, and many talented players, that performance is seen as disappointing.
The franchise is hoping Schneider can revert the situation: the Blue Jays have lost eight of their last 10 games, so it won’t be as easy as it seems.
NEXT: 1 Advantage Blue Jays Will Have Over Other AL East Teams