Toronto Blue Jays Odds: Are John Schneider and Ross Atkins on the hot seat?

Sitting dead last in the AL East, it already felt pretty low for the Toronto Blue Jays, but Tuesday’s 10-1 blowout loss agains the Philadelphia Phillies has only intensified the heat on this team. Toronto has dropped 10 of their last 13 games, they sit 7.5 games back of Baltimore for first in the division and they’re 4.5 games back of the third and final wild-card spot.

To put it simply, it’s been a significant drop-off for the Blue Jays in 2024. Through 36 games last year, Toronto had a 21-15 record, eventually finishing with 89 wins to reach the postseason for the second consecutive year. This year, the Jays are 16-20, so they would need to go 73-53 over their final 126 games to reach 89 wins again. It seems unlikely.

The big issue is that Toronto’s offence is once again struggling and unlike last year, the overall pitching performance isn’t bailing the team out.

Outside of the players, the two people who are most responsible for the Blue Jays’ dismal season are manager John Schneider and general manager Ross Atkins. So, is it time for Toronto to move on from one or both of Schneider and Atkins?

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John Schneider

It’s pretty amazing that we’re already questioning if the axe will drop on Schneider as less than two years ago he was one of the hottest coaching candidates in baseball. But, you have to question Schneider’s job security with how bad the Blue Jays are playing this season.

Toronto ranks in the bottom third in almost every major hitting and pitching category. Sluggers Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and George Springer are all struggling at the plate and the Jays’ bullpen has an MLB-worst 5.27 ERA. There’s only so much Schneider can do to fix this team, but two main things go against him when it comes to saving his job.

First, Schneider has a history of questionable decisions. You only have to look as far as Game 2 of last year’s wild-card series when he pulled Jose Berrios after three shutout innings only for the Jays to be swept for the second straight year.

And secondly, Toronto already has a manager waiting in the wings in bench coach Don Mattingly, who managed the Dodgers from 2011 to 2015 and the Marlins from 2016 to 2022. If the Blue Jays do move on from Schneider, Mattingly, the 2020 NL Manager of the Year, seems like the obvious replacement choice.

Ross Atkins

It’s easier to fire the manager, but getting rid of the general manager would mean ownership is ready to blow things up. Atkins has been with the Jays since 2016 and led Toronto to the ALCS for the second consecutive season that year, the last time the Jays won a playoff game, although it was largely still the team built by Alex Anthopoulos.

Atkins took over the Blue Jays at a tough time and he’s made some great moves, building a strong core around the likes of Guerrero and Bichette. But, nine years is an eternity in the sports world and zero playoff wins in nearly a decade isn’t acceptable. I mean come on, even Oakland made it to the ALDS in 2020.

Toronto is on a path that will see them be sellers and this year’s July 30 trade deadline and if that’s where they end up, you cannot allow Atkins to be in charge. The rebuild should have been over three or four years ago, so whatever plan Atkins had, it hasn’t worked.

The final nail in the coffin should have been when Atkins failed to make any major improvements in the off-season after missing out on Shoehei Ohtani. The biggest moves Atkins made was signing unproven Yariel Rodriguez and 39-year-old Justin Turner. Meanwhile, he let impact players like Matt Chapman and Jordan Hicks walk in free agency.

And don’t forget, Guerrero and Bichette still need to be signed longterm, will they really want to stick around under management’s current plan?