Blue Jays fire manager Charlie Montoyo

The Toronto Blue Jays fired manager Charlie Montoyo on Wednesday with the team in the midst of a rough 2-9 stretch since July 2.

Montoyo, who was in the final year of his original deal, signed a one-year contract extension in April, which also included club options for 2024 and ‘25. Montoyo finished with a 236-236 record across four seasons as the Blue Jays’ skipper.

Toronto general manager Ross Atkins said the decision was not an easy one and the team's disappointing first half of the season does not fall on one person's shoulders.

"I wanted to make it work with Charlie," Atkins told reporters. "I'm extremely disappointed with where we are...This is a collective setback, and ultimately this starts with me."

In place of Montoyo, bench coach John Schneider has been named interim manager through the remainder of the season. Casey Candaele, who’s been serving as the manager for the franchise’s triple-A affiliate in Buffalo this season, will now serve as Toronto’s interim bench coach.

This is the sixth in-season managerial change in franchise history and the first since Cito Gaston took over for John Gibbons in 2008. The team finished 51-37 under Gaston that season, placing fourth in the AL East Division.

Schneider spent six minor-league seasons as a catcher inside the Blue Jays organization. He’s been a coach with them since 2008, when he served as the manager in the Gulf Coast League. In 2010, the 42-year-old was promoted to manager of the franchise’s short-season low-A affiliate in Vancouver.

During the 2011 season, the former player managed the Canadians to a Northwest League championship. Following a brief hiatus in the GCL, he returned to manage Vancouver’s minor-league team for two seasons from 2014-15.

His coaching resume also includes stops in Lansing and Dunedin, where he served as the manager for both clubs. In 2017, Schneider managed current MLB players Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. as they went on to secure the Florida State League championship.

As Bichette and Guerrero Jr. climbed to double-A New Hampshire the following season, Schneider tagged along with them, taking over as manager of the Fisher Cats in 2018. They were ultimately crowned as champions for a second-straight campaign, earning Schneider the honour of being named Eastern League Manager of the Year.

The Blue Jays promoted Schneider to their big-league club ahead of the 2019 season, where he served as a member of Montoyo’s staff. It’s now his turn to run the show.

Toronto currently sits fourth in the AL East Division with a 46-42 record, good for the final wild-card seed.

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