Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins stands by manager John Gibbons, refuting talk that Gibbons is about to be fired.
Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins is quick to dismiss any talk about manager John Gibbons’ job security.
Atkins said Tuesday that the Blue Jays have no plans to fire Gibbons, despite reports over the past two days that he would indeed be let go. On Monday, Sportsnet’s Jeff Blair wrote that the team was going to fire Gibbons at the end of their current six-game homestand and replace him on an interim basis with bench coach DeMarlo Hale.
Then, earlier on Tuesday, Ken Rosenthal reported for The Athletic that the “Toronto Blue Jays seem destined to move on from John Gibbons.”
Atkins, however, says Gibbons is still part of the Jays long-term plans.
“Our relation’s great,” Atkins said before Toronto’s game against Boston. “Every day our conversation’s about solutions and part of our conversations obviously have to incorporate the future, too, so he’s very much a part of those.”
The team is instead focused on how to improve, Atkins reiterated, and now is not the time to discuss Gibbons’ future in Toronto.
“I don’t think there’s ever a good time to make those decisions,” he said. “Right now we’re just focused on solutions and improvement and getting better.”
Gibbons was first hired as Blue Jays manager to replace the fired Carlos Tosca during the 2004 season. He was fired midway through 2008, only to be brought back in 2013. Gibbons managed the Blue Jays to the team’s first playoff berth in 22 years and made back-to-back ALCS appearances in 2015 and 2016. In June he became just the second manager in Blue Jays franchise history to reach 1,500 games, joining Cito Gaston. He has an overall record of 771-760.
The Blue Jays (51-60) have had a disappointing 2018 campaign that has seen several key players miss time with injuries. Josh Donaldson, Aaron Sanchez, Troy Tulowitzki and Marco Estrada have all missed significant parts of the season, and starter Marcus Stroman had to leave Tuesday’s game with blisters.
Gibbons is still under contract with the Blue Jays thru 2019. Whether or not he will still be in the Jays dugout by then is up to Atkins. But if you believe the GM, Gibbons isn’t going anywhere.
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