Blue Jays fire Charlie Montoyo
The Toronto Blue Jays fired manager Charlie Montoyo on Wednesday.
"The Toronto Blue Jays have today relieved Charlie Montoyo of his duties as manager," a statement read. "Bench coach John Schneider has been named interim manager through the end of the 2022 season. Casey Candaele has been appointed interim bench coach for the club."
Candaele previously served as manager of Toronto's Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo.
Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said he "wanted to make it work with" Montoyo but admitted he was "extremely disappointed" with where the team was under the skipper.
"I just want to start by saying how difficult a decision this has been. … This is a collective setback, and ultimately, this starts with me," Atkins said Wednesday, according to Sportsnet's Blake Murphy.
Atkins added Montoyo's firing had been in the works for a while, according to the Toronto Sun's Rob Longley.
Montoyo was in his fourth season with the Blue Jays, amassing a 236-236 record since 2018. His best campaign came in 2021 when the Blue Jays finished 91-71. Toronto also went to the postseason under Montoyo in 2020, losing to the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL wild-card series during the expanded playoffs.
If the playoffs started today, the Toronto Blue Jays would be in.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 13, 2022
They're 1.5 games out of the top wild card spot in the American League.
That wasn't enough to save Charlie Montoyo's job. Bad losses and questions in the clubhouse about leadership were a devastating combination.
Schneider has never managed at the big-league level but has a proven track record as a minor-league manager for the Blue Jays.
A wrinkle in all of this is I had heard John Schneider was going to be a name rival clubs were interested in talking to this winter about manager jobs.
— Scott Mitchell (@ScottyMitchTSN) July 13, 2022
He always seemed destined to manage this #BlueJays club, and I’ve had people tell me “he pretty much does that job already.”
The Blue Jays entered Wednesday fourth in the American League East with a 46-42 record.
They ended a four-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday but have dropped nine of their last 11 games.
Montoyo is the third manager fired this season, joining Joe Girardi and Joe Maddon, who were relieved of their duties by the Phillies and Los Angeles Angels, respectively.