Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- An AL East team is facing mounting internal tensions as the season hits a critical low point.
- Players and fans alike are showing visible frustration with the team's direction and leadership.
- The next few weeks will test whether internal changes can reverse a troubling trend before it's too late.
In fairness to the Toronto Blue Jays, asking them to carve through the American League East was always going to be an incredibly difficult task.
Not only are the Blue Jays guaranteed to enter the All-Star break with a losing record, but they’re also just half a game out of last place in the division just one year after making it to Game 7 of the World Series. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has drastically underperformed in the first season of a 14-year contract, and the Blue Jays’ .685 OPS ranks fourth-worst leaguewide.
Things are only getting worse, as manager John Schneider is well aware. Monday’s 10-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants dropped the Jays to 42-49, and they recently went 29 innings without scoring a run. And while the Blue Jays haven’t lost the fans’ support, it sure sounds like Schneider’s control over the clubhouse is dwindling — and that theory came strictly from the horse’s mouth.
“It’s really easy to go in and scream,” Schneider told reporters. “Right now, I feel like I could go do that to a stranger walking down the hallway here. But I think you have to stay focused on what is best for the player, what is best for the person.”
Could the Toronto Blue Jays fire John Schneider despite last year’s World Series appearance?
Of the three teams to change managers thus far, only the Phillies have truly turned things around since. The Red Sox still sit in last place, and the less said about the Mets, the better.
That said, we’d be incredibly surprised if the Blue Jays fired Schneider, largely for financial reasons. He signed a two-year extension during spring training and has been with the organization since 2002. General manager Ross Atkins also inked a five-year extension during spring training. There is no reason to believe that Atkins and ownership would suddenly reverse course and dismiss Schneider within the coming weeks.
Veteran pitcher Kevin Gausman doesn’t sound convinced that anything, including a potential team meeting, would have an immediate impact.
“It depends on who’s running it and what’s being said,” Gausman said. “When that will happen, we’ll see. We’ve had some discussions internally. You never know how that’s going to go.”
That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement of Schneider or the Jays’ current leadership.
Some type of change feels inevitable, though, especially as it pertains to the Blue Jays’ dreadful offense. Rookie third baseman Kazuma Okamoto, who has 20 home runs, is the only regular even in double digits. Incredibly, George Springer is the only other Blue Jays hitter with at least eight home runs.
Okamoto and Dylan Cease have fared well in their first seasons in Canada, and last year’s playoff hero, Trey Yesavage, has been fine in 13 starts since returning from the IL. Second baseman Ernie Clement and closer Louis Varland joined Guerrero on the AL All-Star team, though Varland is the only one truly deserving.
Clement leading all American League players in voting is a testament to the ever-loving support of Blue Jays fans. For as bad as the team itself has been, it’s clear that Canada still stands by its lone baseball team.
Whether or not those in the Jays locker room share similar emotions about Schneider, though, remains to be seen. Gausman certainly doesn’t have us feeling too optimistic about what the season’s final months hold for the reigning AL champions.
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