The Toronto Blue Jays entered the season with expectations of making the playoffs, led by the young core of Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with manager John Schneider overseeing it all. Nearing the end of August, MLB rumors are already emerging about changes looming for Toronto.
The Blue Jays have been a major disappointment in 2024. Entering MLB games today, the club is nearly 10 games below the .500 mark and the Blue Jays lineup barely cracks the top 20 in runs scored. It’s what led the team to operate as sellers at the trade deadline, with Bichette and Guerrero Jr. frequently popping up in MLB trade rumors.
- John Schneider record (Baseball Reference): 195-169 (.536) with the Toronto Blue Jays, 0-4 in playoffs
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Toronto kept both of its young stars, but it had plans for bigger changes this offseason. While the expectation is that Guerrero Jr. will spend 2025 in a Blue Jays uniform, the same can’t be said for another prominent member of the team.
The New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported on Thursday that while Blue Jays executives Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins are likely to ‘survive’ through the 2024 offseason, Schneider could be the organization’s “fall guy” this winter and become one of the MLB managers fired in 2024.
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Toronto’s rationale might even extend beyond what happened this season. Heyman highlights an incident from the MLB playoffs in 2023, when Atkins took issue with Schneider’s pitching decisions. With the two Blue Jays’ figures seemingly not aligned, the team missing the postseason could be the final straw for Schneider.
If that happens, Toronto’s bench coach Don Mattingly and Miami Marlins skipper Skip Schumaker figure to be among the Blue Jays managerial candidates this offseason. Considering the talent on the roster, Toronto would have one of the most attractive jobs available.
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