Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins was 'surprised' by controversial Jose Berrios decision

The decision to remove Blue Jays starter Jose Berrios from Game 2 of the American League wild-card series ruffled feathers across baseball, and Toronto general manager Ross Atkins admitted he was also "surprised" by the move.

Berrios had surrendered just three hits while striking out five to begin the do-or-die contest against the Minnesota Twins, then allowed a leadoff walk in the fourth inning. Manager John Schneider then emerged from the dugout and gave his starter the hook in favour of Yusei Kikuchi.

Minnesota went on to score both of its runs in that inning, with the 2-0 score holding for the remainder of the contest.

Atkins told reporters on Saturday that he found out at the same time as fans that Berrios was coming out of the game. The 50-year-old said that despite his surprise, he also understood the logic behind the decision and pointed to run scoring — not run prevention — as the reason behind the two-game sweep at the hands of the Twins.

Atkins said the Berrios decision was made by Schneider and his coaching staff, and that "front office pressure" was not a factor. Schneider will be returning as manager in 2024, Atkins confirmed.

"I found out about it when you did," Atkins said. "When [Kikuchi] was getting warm in the first inning, it was very clear that we had a strategy to potentially deploy. John Schneider made the decision to deploy that.

"There was not an influence from the office that factored into that, other than maybe it was an organizational strategy communicated to players. When I say organization, I'm including players, many players over the course of the days prior to that strategy."

After Wednesday's defeat, several Blue Jays players shared their thoughts on the Berrios move, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. saying "everybody was surprised" and Whit Merrifield admitting he "hated it."

Toronto suffered a sweep in the wild-card round for the third time in the past four seasons and has yet to win a playoff game in the Guerrero Jr.-Bo Bichette era. Atkins opened Saturday's media conference expressing disappointment that the team did not live up to expectations in 2023 after being tabbed as World Series contenders.

"This is extremely painful for me," Atkins said. "This has been one of the most frustrating times in my career. Walking into that clubhouse yesterday, the smell of stale champagne was not good for me."