Owen Hill

At the start of the 1977 season, Major League Baseball expanded into Toronto, breathing life into the Toronto Blue Jays. Since then, 15 men have held the title of manager, with varying tactics and levels of success. Some are remembered fondly, while others draw the ire of fans, even years later. Here’s a trip through the nearly five decades of Toronto Blue Jays managers, highlighting the ups, downs, and everything in between. Complete List of Toronto Blue Jays Managers John Schneider: 2022-Present Charlie Montoyo: 2019-2022 John Gibbons: 2004-2008, 2013-2018 John Farrell: 2011-2012 Cito Gaston: 1989-1997, 2008-2010 Carlos Tosca: 2002-2004 Buck Martinez: 2001-2002 Jim Fregosi: 1999-2000 Tim Johnson: 1998 Mel Queen: 1997 Gene Tenace: 1991 Jimy Williams: 1986-1989 Bobby Cox: 1982-1985 Bobby Mattick: 1980-1981 Roy Hartsfield: 1977-1979 John Schneider: 2022-Present The jury is still out on how John Schneider will be remembered as manager of the Blue Jays. He’s already led the team to a pair of post-season appearances in 2022 and 2023, but without a single victory in either year. At times he has been accused of blindly following analytics, specifically after the pulled José Berríos from a playoff game in which he was rolling, but that narrative has quieted as he’s gained experience in the role. Many find him to be quite personable and he’s very open with the media, often giving insight into his decisions and happenings with the team. Fun Fact: Schneider pitched to Vladdy in both of his home run derby appearances, including his victory in 2023. Charlie Montoyo: 2019-2022 - .500 Win% Replacing Gibbons, who was uninterested in managing a rebuilding team, after 2018, Charlie Montoyo’s tenure as manager marked a very different era of Blue Jays baseball. He was the first managerial hire made by the current front office regime of Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins, and was the perfect voice in the room as prospects from a top ranked farm system graduated to the big leagues. Montoyo was around to cultivate the talents of Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and their peers, and was an American League manager of the year finalist when the Blue Jays over achieved, making the expanded playoff in 2020. He was fired after getting off to a disappointing start to the 2022 season, but his conga playing will always remain iconic. John Gibbons: 2004-2008, 2013-2018 - .501 Win% One of the true characters of baseball, and at this point one of the most beloved managers in Blue Jays history, his former players, staff members and opponents could probably go around the circle telling stories about John Gibbons. However Gibby’s first tenure as the Blue Jays skipper came with a lot more controversy than the joy that gets remembered from his second kick at the can. His teams were often solid, despite never making the playoffs, but often very public disputes with players became what he was known for. There was the dispute with eventual Hall of Famer Frank Thomas, and of course the infamous altercation with Ted Lilly. Gibby was fired and replaced by Cito Gaston after his team got off to a poor start in 2008, but Gibby would make a triumphant return to the Blue Jays clubhouse in 2013 with a fresh new group of players. His second tenure, although not without some controversy between him and his players (Josh Donaldson’s cologne must have smelled really good), saw playoff baseball return to Toronto for the first time since 1993. His 2015 and ‘16 teams were exciting, fun, and damn good. And Gibby was the perfect person to lead them. John Farrell: 2011-2012 - .475 Win% John Farrell is among the most hated managers in Blue Jays history, and not just because both of his Blue Jays teams finished in fourth place in the American League East. Fans of a certain age will remember Farrell running off to Boston for his “dream job”, completely abandoning what the Blue Jays were trying to build in Toronto. Amidst his departure Farrell continued to claim that his heart was in Toronto, but players and fans said otherwise. If you’re still feeling bitter about how Farrell treated the Blue Jays, enjoy this video of Jon Rauch’s epic meltdown in which Farrell dislocated his jaw trying to restrain him: Cito Gaston: 1989-1997, 2008-2010 - .516 Win% It would be the 12-24 start to the 1989 season that saw Williams lose his job to Cito Gaston, who had been working as a hitting coach in the Blue Jays organization since he followed Bobby Cox from the Braves in 1982. Known as a soft-spoken, player’s manager, Gaston headed the glory days of Blue Jays baseball, winning division titles in ‘89, ‘91, ‘92, and ‘93, with the latter two resulting in World Series Championships. Gaston was the first African American manager to win a World Series championship, he’s a member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, and his name sits on the Level of Excellence at the Rogers Centre. After trying his hand at other roles in the Blue Jays’ organization, Gaston returned to the manager’s office from 2008-2010, although his old-school style seemed out-dated, and never quite seemed to mesh with the current players. Carlos Tosca: 2002-2004 - .500 Win%t After being hired as the third base coach prior to the 2002 season, it didn’t take long for Carlos Tosca to receive a promotion to manager of the Blue Jays when they got off to a 33-20 start to the season. He oversaw a classic ‘00’s Blue Jays season in 2003 in which they finished well above .500 but fell short of a playoff spot, but a 47-64 in 2004 saw him lose his job. Buck Martinez: 2001-2002 - .465 Win% It was brief, but yes, beloved broadcaster Buck Martinez actually did manage the Blue Jays. You most likely know him from his nearly four decades of working on Blue Jays broadcasts, or his nearly 2 decades as a big leaguer before that, but in a time when new owners Rogers Communications had just taken over the team they were looking to build trust with fans. Martinez’s familiar, and already fan favourite face was the choice to lead the team. The peculiar thing about Martinez being hired as the head coach was that prior to taking the job, he had never coached a baseball team before. He said, “Coming in as a manager at the major league level is a tremendous challenge… And not having any managerial experience, any coaching experience at any level, I didn't realize what a difficult task that was”. That adds up when you look at his disappointing 100-115 record and the fact that he was fired just a couple months into his second season as manager. Blue Jays fans don’t hold Buck’s lack of success as a manager against him. He’s one of the most iconic figures in the organization's rich history, a joy to listen to on broadcasts, and very likely a future member of the Level of Excellence. Jim Fregosi: 1999-2000 - .515 Win% In need of some stability, and with the 1999 season right around the corner, the Blue Jays looked to managerial veteran Jim Fregosi to take the helm. He managed back-to-back winning seasons in ‘99 and 2000, but his teams failed to meet the playoff aspirations, and with Rogers coming in as new owners, his contract was not renewed ahead of the 2001 season. Tim Johnson: 1998 - .543 Win% The protagonist of the perhaps most dumbfounding story to ever come out of the manager’s office in Toronto, Tim Johnson led the Blue Jays to a successful season in 1998, before being relieved of his duties prior to the 1999 season. As a manager, Johnson was known to tell his players stories about his time as a military man, fighting in Vietnam, speaking of his hardships in battle as a way to motivate his players. In one of the most gruesome of these stories he “tried convincing starter Pat Hentgen to move his start back a day so ace Roger Clemens could start the final game of the series. For ‘inspiration,’ Johnson actually said he killed a mother and child in Vietnam, an act he was against but did for the good ‘of the cause’”. The catch? Johnson was never actually deployed to Vietnam. When word made its way around the Blue Jays clubhouse that Johnson had fabricated his stories, players understandably came out to express their distrust in Johnson going forward, and he was fired in spring training 1999 with then-GM Gord Ash citing “distractions” as the main reason. Mel Queen: 1997 - .800 Win% At the end of four straight losing seasons following back-to-back World Series Championships in ‘92 and ‘93, Gaston was let go by the Blue Jays and replaced by pitching coach Mel Queen on an interim basis. His managerial career only lasted five games, but his team went 4-1. Gene Tenace: 1991 - .576 Win% When Gaston needed an extended absence from the team late in the 1991 season due to a back problem, Gene Tenace stepped up as the interim manager. He led the Jays to a 19-14 record, and saw them hold onto 1st place in the AL East down the stretch. Gaston would return for the playoffs, and eventual 4-1 series loss to the Minnesota Twins in the ALCS. Jimy Williams: 1986-1989 - .538 Win% The third base coach of the Blue Jays since 1980, Jimy Williams received the promotion to manager when Cox left the organization after the 1985 season. He led the Jays to winning seasons in each of his first three campaigns, but the infamous 1987 collapse which saw his team choke away an AL East lead of 3.5 games with 7 games left to the Detroit Tigers, a disappointing 3rd place finish in ‘88 and a 12-24 start to ‘89 leave the overall perception of WIlliams’ time at the helm one of missed opportunities. After his time with the Jays, Williams would move on to manage the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros. Bobby Cox: 1982-1985 - .549 Win% Of all his success during his Hall of Fame career in baseball, his four years as Blue Jays manager may not be the time Bobby Cox is most remembered for, but his brief time in Toronto was extremely impactful. He led the Blue Jays to their first ever winning seasons in 1983 and ‘84, and first ever playoff berth after winning a (still) franchise record 99 games and AL East division in 1985, before blowing a 3-1 lead to the Kansas City Royals in the ALCS. Fun Fact: Cox, known to be a bit of a hot-head, owns the major league record with 162 ejections as a manager. Bobby Mattick: 1980-1981 - .388 Win% Canadian Baseball Hall of Famer Bobby Mattick replaced Hartsfield in the dugout for the 1980 season, but was not new to the Blue Jays organization. Mattick was one of the team’s original employees, working in the front office as a scouting supervisor, and then as the director of player development prior to being asked to manage. He oversaw the first non-100 loss season in franchise history, but took a step back in winning percentage in a strike-shortened 1981, before returning to a front office role as the vice-president of baseball. Fun Fact: at the time of his hiring, Mattick was the oldest rookie manager to ever start a season. Roy Hartsfield: 1977-1979 - .343 Win% As the first ever manager of the expansion franchise, Roy Hartsfield’s job was a very difficult one. He helmed the team as it endured three straight seasons of greater than 100 loss baseball. With his third and final season as manager of the club in 1979 the worst record of his tenure, and with players publicly calling for him to be fired, Hartsfield was not offered the chance to come back for a fourth season.

May was an up-and-down month for Blue Jays hitters. After an ice-cold April in which the Jays were among the worst power-hitting teams in the sport, the bats turned the page, finding their home run stroke early in May. But just as it seemed the offence had settled into the season, a six-game road trip to Tampa and Texas saw the Jays score just six runs, a new low, even for this group. The Jays quickly rebounded from that unfortunate road trip, ending the month by mutilating Athletics pitching, scoring a total of 31 runs in their final three games of the month. Nine Blue Jays had a May wRC+ over 100, meaning they provided above-league-average production at the plate, a big step up from the five such bats the Jays had in March/April. Perhaps most importantly, after all of our conversations discussing the power outage, and after the Blue Jays finished March/April second last in baseball with just 19 home runs, they bounced back this month to hit 38, the fifth-best total in MLB. The end of the month is the perfect time to dig into some individual performances and give credit to the most productive Blue Jays over the last 31 days. Honourable Mentions Bo Bichette - .281/.325.513, 7 HR, 11 BB, 23 K, 137 wRC+, 0.9 fWAR After a March/April in which he didn’t hit any home runs, one of the easiest Blue Jays to pick on when diagnosing the reasons for the power outage was Bo Bichette. Although he plays a premium position in shortstop, his defence grades out below average in most categories, which means his value is mostly derived from what he provides offensively. Bichette’s inability to make an impact for the 2024 club was a big reason that team found itself out of the race so early in the season and selling at the trade deadline. After going through the first month of the 2025 season with just a .693 OPS and zero homers, Bichette looked like he hadn’t been able to turn the page. However, in May, Bichette changed the narrative. Between May 1 and 31, he rocked an .838 OPS, helped by his walk rate jumping up to 8.7 percent, which would be a career high if maintained across a full season. He also had 15 extra-base hits, including a team-high seven homers. Most importantly, he scored 15 runs while cashing 19 RBI. With a very solid month of May, Bichette is looking a lot like the version of himself that was perennially considered for All-Star appearances, and if it weren’t for massive performances from a few of his teammates, he would easily find himself among the Blue Jays' top three hitters for May. Nathan Lukes - .299/.390/.463, 3 HR, 9 BB, 10 K, 148 wRC+, 0.6 fWAR It might be a little bit surprising to see Nathan Lukes’ name on this list, especially considering that a lack of production from internally developed players has been one of the biggest criticisms the Blue Jays have faced during this competitive window. But in a month in which the offence finally came alive and produced the fourth best team OPS in baseball (.785), it makes sense that they received major contributions from the bottom of the lineup. The face of the bottom lineup in the month of May was Lukes. His contact-first, up-the-middle approach from the left side of the plate saw him dominate right-handed pitching to the tune of a .299 AVG and .897 OPS. He walked nearly as much as he struck out and somehow was only beaten out by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Addison Barger for the best wRC+ on the team in May. Lukes is usually well protected against lefties, only registering 11 plate appearances against them this past month. That held him back from entering the top three, but in May, he did all the little things right, earning him a shout-out as an honourable mention for Jays Centre Hitter of the Month. Ernie Clement - .306/.349/.469 3 HR, 6 BB, 14 K, 1.3 fWAR In the first draft of this article, Ernie Clement's name did not appear. He'd had what I think most of us would consider a very solid month up until the final three games, but the lack of contribution from his bat made it hard to fully consider him for this list. Clement's ability to play very good defence at both second and third base, while filling in at shortstop the odd time, is typically his biggest contribution to the squad, and through the first 28 days of May, despite a disappointing 83 wRC+, he was tied with Bichette for the fifth highest fWAR among Blue Jays position players at 0.6. But in the final three days of May, facing the Athletics, a team that DFA'd him earlier in his career, Clement went crazy. He went 9-for-14 with three doubles and a pair of homers, while scoring four runs and cashing six RBI. He accumulated 0.7 fWAR in the final three days of the month alone, bringing his monthly total to 1.3 and allowing him to sneak ahead of our first honourable mention to lead the team in the statistic. While the numbers over those flashy final three games heavily skew his monthly numbers in a big way, Clement has been a very productive Blue Jay this season, and his honourable mention is well earned. 3. Addison Barger - .292/.370/.517, 4 HR, 10 BB, 22 K, 149 wRC+, 1.2 fWAR One of the most positive developments to come out of this month is the force with which Addison Barger has burst onto the scene. After starting the season in Triple A, it wasn’t until halfway through April that Barger earned the call to the bigs, and in 39 plate appearances across his first 14 games, he failed to produce. Despite an average exit velocity of 93 mph, Barger hit just .139 without a home run. Recognizing the impressive underlying numbers, and out of pure need considering the injury to Andrés Giménez, John Schneider continued to give Barger regular opportunities, and in May, it paid off in a massive way. It’s never been much of a secret that Barger hits the ball really hard. On the season, he’s got an average exit velocity of 95.2 mph, the fourth highest mark in baseball, behind Aaron Judge and ahead of Matt Olson. In May, Barger finally found an extended stretch of good results. He's earned the chance to play just about every day, typically finds himself in the middle of the lineup (especially against right-handed pitching), and has continued to produce results. Amid all of the pulverized baseballs on the offensive side of the ball, it’s easy to miss that the defensive metrics (which we always take with a grain of salt) like Barger at third base. He seems to have above-average range, and his arm is so strong and accurate that as soon as he gets it in his glove, it’s safe to assume an out. Barger’s May gave Blue Jays fans lots to dream on when it comes to the outlook of this offence moving forward. If he has truly unlocked something, the Jays may have finally found that power bat they’ve been so desperately missing. 2. Alejandro Kirk - .365/.430/.419, 1 HR, 10 BB, 4 K, 146 wRC+, 1.1 fWAR The way he does it isn’t sexy, but Alejandro Kirk is a premier catcher. His 1.1 fWAR was tied for fifth amongst catchers in May, and while his single home run in the month doesn’t hold a candle to Cal Raleigh, who hit 11, his .430 on base equalled Raleigh for the second best mark among catchers with at least 80 plate appearances. He also ranks among the best defensive catchers in baseball in just about every metric, from blocking, to framing, to throwing. In 2025, Kirk is hitting line drives at a career-best 29.3% rate and, just as importantly, is hitting groundballs just 40.8% of the time, his lowest rate since his rookie campaign in 2021, where he only appeared in 60 games. He doesn’t get quite the same top exit velocities as Barger, or the next guy on this list, but his average exit velocity of 92.2 mph puts him in the 87th percentile across MLB, and he hits it hard nearly 54% of the time, perfectly maximizing his line drive approach. The final impressive statistic I want to highlight concerning Kirky is his anomalistic walk-to-strikeout ratio of 2.50 in the month of May. This means he walked 2.5 times for every strikeout he took. The only player with at least 80 plate appearances last month within a full point of that was Luis Arraez at 1.67. This speaks for itself to highlight just how consistently Kirk put together quality at-bats. Another month similar to the one he just had, and Kirk should find himself as one of the Blue Jays’ representatives at the All-Star Game in Atlanta this July (likely backing up Raleigh of the Mariners). 1. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - .291/.413/.456, 5 HR, 21 BB, 16 K, 149 wRC+, 0.9 fWAR I’d have a hard time picking a player on the roster that’s more important to the Blue Jays' overall success than Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and in a month where the team went 16-12, no Blue Jay hitter put together a more complete month. Hear me out a little bit here, but Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is what I imagine you’d get if you combined the offensive profiles of Addison Barger and Alejandro Kirk. It’s common knowledge that his exit velocity numbers stack up next to anybody in baseball, but it’s the fact that he puts it together with an elite approach that sees him walk nearly as much as he strikes out, and the fact that he can get to and do damage on just about any pitch you offer him that makes him an elite offensive player instead of just a good one. Another part of his game that sets Vladdy apart from some of the league's other great hitters is that he doesn’t need his home run stroke to produce. He hit just five in May, but he reached base in all 28 games the Jays played in the month, leading to a team-best .413 OBP. This was not the most dominant month we’ve seen from Vladdy, but he’s the heart and soul of the team, the face of the franchise, and he played like it. Who else but the $500 million man to top the list for Hitter of the Month in May?

Yimi García, one of the most trusted relievers in the Blue Jays bullpen, was placed on the 15-day injured list on Saturday with an impingement in his right shoulder. There’s not a whole lot of information about his timeline to return, although the hope is that his absence won’t last long. Still, while he’s gone, his innings, which have come almost entirely in high-leverage spots, are going to need to go to someone else. If you told a Jays fan at the start of spring training that García would hit the IL at some point, their natural reaction would likely be to expect guys like Erik Swanson and Nick Sandlin to take on a higher-leverage role. Yet, with the two of them already away from the team battling injuries of their own, the Blue Jays are going to need somebody else to step up in a big way. My pick to be this guy, from the limited options available (the Jays hardly have an excess of bullpen arms that have shown they deserve to be thrown into the fire), is Yariel Rodríguez. Rodríguez's perception in Blue Jay land has been something of a rollercoaster since he signed as an international free agent prior to the 2024 season. There was some serious excitement heading into his first big league campaign that he could stick as a starter. Although he survived 2024, working a not-quite-catastrophic 4.47 ERA in 21 starts, he had a hard time carrying his velocity deep into his outings and often found himself struggling to locate the strike zone – and getting knocked around when he did. His league-average strikeout percentage and below-average fastball velocity were indicative that he’d benefit from a shift to shorter appearances. So, coming into 2025, with a lot of Rodríguez's shine from the 2023-24 offseason worn off, the Blue Jays very quietly declined to stretch him out as starting pitching depth. Instead, they’ve given him shorter assignments, no more than two innings, and requested that he, and I’m paraphrasing here, throw the s*** out of the ball. Instead of trying to leave some gas in the tank for the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, Rodríguez comes out of the ‘pen with the intent to attack hitters with his best stuff from the jump. Thanks to this, we’ve seen his average fastball velocity increase more than two miles per hour, now sitting at 96 and at times touching 98 mph. In turn, this has helped raise his whiff and strikeout rates from about league average to considerably above it. The other adjustment Rodríguez made coming into the year was eliminating his curveball in favour of his much more effective slider. As a starting pitcher, it made sense for him to have two breaking balls in his arsenal, especially when facing a lineup for the second and third time in an outing. Now a reliever, he doesn’t need to worry about a hitter getting comfortable against his featured pitches and can always offer his best stuff. In 2024, Rodríguez threw his slider 28% of the time and his curveball 10% of the time. Last year, his slider was a solid pitch, registering a 103 Stuff+ according to FanGraphs, whereas the curveball graded out with a poor Stuff+ of just 92 (league average is 100). This showed up in the results as well. Opponents hit the curveball to the tune of a .348 average, and it had a Statcast run value of -6 despite only being thrown 157 times. This meant that even though his slider was an effective pitch (+1 run value), Rodríguez finished 2024 in just the 11th percentile in breaking ball run value. Now, Rodríguez has bumped up his slider usage to 36%, and by simply eliminating the curveball, he has gone from having one of the worst breaking ball run values in baseball to one of the best, sitting in the 86th percentile early in 2025. Now that we’ve checked under the hood and everything looks encouraging, the most important development of Rodríguez's 2025 is how positive his results have been. Since giving up a run in two of his first four outings of the season, he has settled in very nicely, allowing opponents to hit just .154 against him while working a 1.74 ERA since April 9. It’s pretty clear John Schneider and the Jays have recognized his success, because even before García went down, Rodríguez had been finding himself in more and more close games, especially when García or Jeff Hoffman were unavailable because they’d pitched the previous day. García’s absence leaves a big hole in the Blue Jays bullpen, and the jury is still out on whether there’s a reliever in-house with the sauce to fill it. If there is, my money is on Yariel Rodríguez. Stats updated prior to games on Monday, May 26.