Charlie Montoyo fired: Blue Jays pull shocking move before All-Star Break

The Toronto Blue Jays have fired manager Charlie Montoyo on July 13, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.

Over the past couple of years, the Toronto Blue Jays have demonstrated that they are making an aggressive push for their first World Series title since 1993. On paper, they certainly looked like the favorites in the AL East this season, but now, the team currently sits in fourth place with a paltry 46-42 record.

On July 13, the Blue Jays organization made it known that they had seen enough from manager Charlie Montoyo, firing him in his fourth season with the team, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.

Bench coach John Schneider was officially named the interim manager for Toronto.

Blue Jays fire manager Charlie Montoyo

The Blue Jays are a team that was expected to be in postseason contention entering the 2022 season. What they did not expect was that the team would be clinging onto the final Wild Card spot in the American League just days ahead of the All-Star break. By clinging, we mean a half-a-game lead over the Seattle Mariners entering July 13. It certainly does not help matters when the Baltimore Orioles are just two games behind Toronto.

Toronto spent substantial money on players like George Springer in free agency in addition to pulling off huge trades for big-name players, such as starting pitcher Jose Berrios and third baseman Matt Chapman.

Montoyo did lead the Blue Jays to the postseason once, and that was in the 60-game truncated campaign. Toronto was swept in the opening round by the rival Tampa Bay Rays.

In his four years with the team, Montoyo holds an even 236-236 record.

Yes, the Blue Jays are still in postseason contention, but the organization was not pleased with their performance thus far. Albeit unexpected, there were certainly valid reasons as to why they decided it was time to move on from Montoyo as manager.