Shapiro sees ‘no basis’ to fire Blue Jays GM after disappointing year Achi-News

Despite the fact that the Toronto Blue Jays finished last in the American League East, team president Mark Shapiro said on Wednesday that general manager Ross Atkins will remain in his role.

Speaking at a conference call to end a season in which the Blue Jays finished 74-88, Shapiro said he and Atkins were not proud of the season.

“Ross needs to be better. I need to be better. All of our baseball operations need to be better,” he told reporters before trumpeting the fact that the current system has led the Blue Jays to the postseason in three of the past five seasons.

“We left spring training objectively with a chance to be a competitive team and a playoff team. And for me, that is no basis for making a change. … If I felt there was a better alternative to run our baseball operation, I would make that change.”

While it is true that Toronto has made playoff appearances, in each case they were in the wild card round and failed to collect a win in any of the series.

The Blue Jays ended a disappointing season by getting swept by the Miami Marlins 26-7 in a three-game sweep.

While the front office remains largely untouched, Atkins told reporters that changes have been made to the coaching staff as the team fired head coach Guillermo Martinez, pitching coordinator Gil Kim and bullpen coach Jeff Ware.

“We’ve also made an adjustment to Donnie (Mattingly)’s role,” Atkins said. “Donnie is no longer going to be overseeing the offense. He will go back to a more traditional role as a bench coach.”

Considering how the team finished the 2024 season, some may believe it’s time to rebuild. However, the team will not go in that direction and will look to return to their winning ways, the GM said.

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With Atkins in the hot seat, it would be difficult for him to consider rebuilding.

Vladdy Guerrero and Bo Bichette, two of the team’s biggest names, are entering the final year of their contracts – so it begs the question of whether the team should look to deal either player if that they cannot agree to an extension this summer.

Atkins was noncommittal when asked how the situation should be handled.

“I would never say we have to do something or we don’t have to do something,” he explained. “And, we’re lucky to have incredible support that we’re never backed into a corner that way.”

How much support the team has remains up for debate among many Blue Jays fans, but Shapiro doesn’t expect any major changes to the payroll for the upcoming season.

“I don’t see it being much different next year,” the Jays president told reporters. “I know that’s not an exact number, not that I’d ever give you one anyway, but I don’t see it growing or decreasing in a big way.”

Atkins was brought in by Shapiro in 2016 after former GM Alex Anthopoulos resigned from the club, citing the fact that he believed Shapiro would not give him the autonomy he wanted to run the club.

In his final season as GM, Jays Anthopoulos finished with a 93-69 record and reached the AL Championship series.

A year later with Atkins at the helm, the Jays returned to the AL Championship series after finishing with an 89-73 record.

& copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.