An interesting off-season awaits the Blue Jays Achi-News

TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays moved quickly by making some coaching changes after finishing in last place in the American League East.

Now the heavy lifting begins.

General manager Ross Atkins has his work cut out for him to start the offseason. The offense needs a big boost, the bullpen needs an overhaul and star players Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette are entering the final year of their contracts.

The to-do list is long and the pressure is on to turn things around while the team’s competitive window remains open.

“I need to be better and I have to do a better job of building (the) team around a really good core that has been successful,” Atkins said Wednesday. “I’m committed to doing that.”

Atkins has spent nearly nine years with the franchise but the team has not won a playoff game since 2016.

He led the Blue Jays to the wild card series in 2020, ’22 and ’23 but were swept each time. Atkins took a gamble by essentially running back last year’s roster and it didn’t work out.

After a slow start, there was a slump in mid-June. The trade deadline was sold and the Blue Jays spent the final three months of the schedule in last place.

Early season optimism of a playoff comeback faded rather quickly.

“We thought objectively we had a team that was good enough to win the American League East and play in the postseason,” said team president Mark Shapiro, who confirmed Atkins would be back in 2025.

“I can’t think of a greater disconnect from expectations in the time I’ve been here.”

Injuries to key players like Bichette, closer Jordan Romano and starter Alek Manoah didn’t help, but underperformance and a lack of organizational depth made matters worse.

An aging but solid starting rotation remains and adding a big bat should be a top priority. The bullpen also needs serious attention after trades, injuries and inconsistency led to poor results.

“You have to have internal solutions and progress and you have to have external add-ons for a market like ours and a team like ours, for us to take another step,” Atkins said.

“We are committed to making that happen. We will be obsessive about making that happen and believe we will.”

The Blue Jays were among the top 10 spending teams with a payroll of US$234 million this year, per Spotrac. Shapiro would not provide details on future numbers but noted that support from team ownership has remained strong.

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“It’s not going to limit anyone that Ross pursues in the off-season – anyone – so there’s always some flexibility within that number,” he said. “I don’t see it being very different next year.”

The regular season ended last weekend in ugly fashion as the Blue Jays were swept by the lowly Miami Marlins and scored 26-7 along the way.

In the days that followed, hitting coach Guillermo Martinez was let go and outfield coordinator Gil Kim and assistant pitching coach Jeff Ware learned they will not be returning to their previous roles.

Don Mattingly will move back into the role of bench coach after serving one season as offensive coordinator, Atkins said.

The changes were likely just the beginning for a franchise that seems to be in make-or-break mode.

“Playing September baseball games without playing implications is painful,” Shapiro said. “It’s difficult and it’s not where we want to be.”

The Blue Jays’ 74-88 mark was their worst record since a 67-95 showing in 2019.

“This year was a significant setback,” Shapiro said. “It’s not work we’re proud of. It’s not work that (Atkins) is proud of and it’s not work that I’m proud of.

“Ross needs to be better, I need to be better, all of our baseball operations need to be better.”

This report was first published by The Canadian Press on October 2, 2024.

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& copy 2024 The Canadian Press