Despite the Toronto Blue Jays finishing last in the American League East, club president Mark Shapiro announced Wednesday that general manager Ross Atkins will retain his position.
At the conference to salute the Blue Jays for a season that ended with a 74-88 record, Shapiro said he and Atkins aren’t proud of that season.
“Ross has to get better. I need to get better. Our entire baseball operation has to get better.” He told reporters before trumpeting the fact that the current administration has led the Blue Jays to the postseason in three of the last five seasons.
“We objectively left spring training with a competitive team and a chance to be a playoff team. And to me, that’s not grounds for change. … “If I think there’s a better alternative to running a baseball business, I’ll change that.”
It’s true that Toronto has made the playoffs, but they’ve reached the wild card round each time and haven’t won any series.
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The Blue Jays players ended a disappointing season by losing 26-7 to the Miami Marlins in a three-game series.
Although the front office remains largely the same, Atkins told reporters there have been changes to the coaching staff as the team fired hitting coach Guillermo Martinez, field coordinator Gil Kim and bullpen coach Jeff Ware.
“We also adjusted Donnie (Mattingly)’s role,” Atkins said. “Donny will no longer be overseeing crime. “He will return to a more traditional bench coach role.”
Looking at how the team finished the 2024 season, some might think it’s time for a rebuild. But the team won’t be headed in that direction and will look to get back to its winning ways, the GM said.
With Atkins in the hot seat, it would be difficult for him to consider rebuilding.
Two of the team’s most popular players, Vladdy Guerrero and Bo Bichette, are entering the final year of their contracts. That raises the question of whether the team will have to trade either player if they can’t agree on an extension this summer.
Atkins was noncommittal when asked how to handle the situation.
“I would never say we should or shouldn’t do something,” he explained. “And we’re lucky to have such amazing support that we’re not backed into a corner like that.”
How much support the team is giving is a matter of debate among many Blue Jays supporters, but Shapiro doesn’t expect much change in salary this coming season.
“I don’t think it’s going to be much different next year,” the Jays president told reporters. “I know that’s not an exact number. I can’t give you one anyway, but it’s not going to increase or decrease significantly.”
Atkins was hired by Shapiro in 2016 after former GM Alex Anthopoulos resigned from the club. He cited the fact that he believed Shapiro would not give him the autonomy he wanted to run the club.
In his final season as GM, Anthopoulos’ Jays advanced to the AL Championship Series with a 93-69 record.
A year later, with Atkins at the helm, the Jays returned to the AL Championship Series after posting an 89-73 record.
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