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Charlie Montoyo Fired as Blue Jays Manager; John Schneider Named Interim

Joseph Zucker@@JosephZuckerX.com LogoFeatured Columnist IVJuly 13, 2022

CLEVELAND, OH - MAY 08: Manager Charlie Montoyo #25 of the Toronto Blue Jays calls for a relief pitcher during the eighth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on May 08, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Guardians defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3. (Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images)
Ron Schwane/Getty Images

The Toronto Blue Jays fired manager Charlie Montoyo on Wednesday and named bench coach John Schneider as the interim manager.

Toronto Blue Jays @BlueJays

Statement from the Toronto Blue Jays: <a href="https://t.co/mSylN7TyDE">pic.twitter.com/mSylN7TyDE</a>

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal first reported the news of Montoyo's dismissal.

The Blue Jays are fourth in the American League East at 46-42, 15.5 games back of the first-place New York Yankees. Still, Montoyo's ouster comes as a surprise with the team in possession of the third AL wild-card spot.

Toronto is looking to arrest its slide after dropping nine of 11 games, narrowing its lead on the Seattle Mariners for the final wild-card spot to half a game. The Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Guardians are only two games behind.

FanGraphs gives the Blue Jays an 82.5 percent chance of reaching the playoffs.

Wednesday's move may be partially because the franchise missed the postseason in 2021.

Joel Sherman @Joelsherman1

Blue Jays are a half-game up on final AL wild card spot and have built team-record payroll (and expectations) with big recent year outlays on Ryu, Springer, Berrios, Gausman, Kikuchi. Trade for Chapman. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Montoyo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Montoyo</a>

Pete Abraham @PeteAbe

A surprise but less so when you think it through. They've spent a lot on payroll, have big expectations and are two games over .500 since May 1. <br><br>But a tough blow for Montoyo, who guided them admirably through a logistical nightmare from 2020-21. <a href="https://t.co/Pa0gJngfoj">https://t.co/Pa0gJngfoj</a>

The Seattle Times' Ryan Divish also reported Blue Jays players seemed to have soured on Montoyo and "were done with him."

More than anything, Montoyo could have been a victim of the fact that a coaching change was the easiest lever for Toronto to pull. You can't transform the roster, so a different voice in the dugout might bring different results.

Blake Murphy @BlakeMurphyODC

My take from the outside is that Montoyo is a below-average manager with the stuff we can capture/see, and all accounts were he was above-average behind closed doors. Uncharacteristic for this front office, but it was the most obvious move beyond major trade.

Jordan Bateman @jordanbateman

Charlie Montoyo seems like a very nice man, but the <a href="https://twitter.com/BlueJays?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BlueJays</a> clearly needed something to change. Too talented to be this mediocre.<br><br>Now acquire another starter and someone with an actual fastball for the bullpen.

The Philadelphia Phillies went on a surge after firing Joe Girardi on June 3. They were 22-29 when he departed and now sit at 46-42.

The Blue Jays might have a similar bump with Schneider.

The Los Angeles Angels represent the opposite end of the spectrum. They jettisoned Joe Maddon when their fortunes turned downward dramatically but discovered things can get worse under a new manager.

Based on the timing, moving on from Montoyo will look like either a masterstroke or a case of midseason panic from the front office.