Yahoo Sports 
Mark Shapiro backs Ross Atkins as Blue Jays GM: 'He's done a good job'
Mark Shapiro touched on his team's ugly playoff exit, the Jose Berrios decision, what needs to change next year and more in his season-ending press conference.
TORONTO — Wounds are still fresh, just over a week removed from the Toronto Blue Jays’ ugly playoff exit.
Last week, general manager Ross Atkins spoke about the 2023 postseason exit being far more painful than the club’s equally embarrassing loss in the wild-card round a year prior. On Thursday, Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro spoke of a similar pain he felt following Toronto’s dismal performance.
“When we fall short of expectations, that responsibility and that accountability clearly lies with me,” said Shapiro. “We've got work to do. That work is already underway.”
As Shapiro said, the gears are churning on an offseason plan to make the Blue Jays better. Here are the biggest takeaways from Shapiro’s year-end press conference at Rogers Centre.
Ross Atkins will return as general manager
Ross Atkins will return as general manager in 2024, Shapiro confirmed, citing continuity and authority as a “competitive advantage” when building a sports franchise. The Blue Jays president praised Atkins’ body of work, including taking the club to the playoffs in three of the last four seasons.
That said, there’s still room for improvement.
“We need to get better; [Atkins] needs to get better,” Shapiro said. “But he's done a good job, and put us in good position next year to be a very good team. [He] certainly deserves that opportunity to continue to lead the baseball organization.”
Pressed about some of Atkins’ trade decisions, notably the offseason swap with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Shapiro said it takes time to evaluate the success of a big move. In his mind, the deal that sent Gabriel Moreno and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to Arizona for Daulton Varsho wasn’t a failure.
“I still feel like that was a good trade,” Shapiro said. “And you can’t evaluate a trade in the short term. You've got to give it four or five years to understand whether a trade was effective or not.”
Overall, Shapiro said he was impressed with the moves Atkins made, which included the successful signings of Chris Bassitt, Brandon Belt, and Kevin Kiermaier last winter.
The Berríos move and transparency on in-game decisions
Shapiro, in a lighter tone than Atkins last week, assured everyone that it was indeed manager John Schneider’s decision to remove José Berríos in the fourth inning of Game 2 versus the Minnesota Twins. Shapiro, who has over 30 years of MLB front-office experience, said it’s always the manager’s call in those situations.
“I've never seen a front office pick up a phone and call down and make a pitching change or make a substitution within the game,” Shapiro said. “That person needs to have the strength and power and confidence to make those decisions, which [Schneider] does.”
Rather than quibbling about the specifics of Schneider’s decision, Shapiro said the whole situation has alerted the club of a need to improve its communication with players. He said he took note of some of the frustrated post-game comments from Blue Jays veterans following the Game 2 loss and hopes to provide more transparency going forward.
“I think we do need to do a better job of being transparent, communicate more effectively, and explain the process and our game planning specifically,” Shapiro said.
A deep dive on lack of offence is coming
Like Atkins, Shapiro recognized the core of the Blue Jays’ struggles came from a weak offence. Over the next few weeks, Toronto’s baseball operations department will evaluate the organization to determine whether changes will be made to the club’s hitting personnel, its offensive approach, or both.
The Blue Jays finished the regular season with 188 home runs, putting them 16th in baseball. This comes during a season where renovations to Rogers Centre’s dimensions were expected to increase Toronto’s offensive output, not diminish it. Shapiro said it’s “illogical” to draw any defined ballpark factors after one season, but he responded to a question about a lack of pop from his batting order.
“We had three or four players that fell significantly short of what we projected,” he said. “And that's what made the year, among the many things, frustrating. That’s what was frustrating, but we need to take a deeper dive.”
Shapiro opted not to comment on the performances of specific players, but many Blue Jays hitters underperformed this season, including Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer and Alejandro Kirk, among others.
No rebuild in 2024, budget should remain the same
Shapiro dispelled the notion the club would rebuild in 2024 and acknowledged how the Blue Jays’ internal expectations – and fan expectations – have evolved over the years.
“The goal was to play deeper into October,” Shapiro said. “I think, at one point, playing meaningful games in September was probably enough. That's not enough anymore… And ultimately, we're never going to be satisfied until we win the last game played.”
Shapiro also said discussions with ownership are ongoing regarding a budget for 2024. This year, the Blue Jays exceeded the luxury tax limit (called the competitive balance tax in MLB) for the first time in franchise history.
“I do think it's important to say, even in the preliminary conversations, I don't expect a dramatic philosophical shift in payroll next year,” Shapiro said. “I expect us to stay in the same area, and we can support that for now.”
The Blue Jays must perform some cap gymnastics this offseason, as many incumbent players require arbitration raises and several departing players will create gaping holes in the lineup, so the club’s payroll will be worth watching down the road.
