Ross Atkins won't be the only Blue Jays leader fired after the season

The Toronto Blue Jays' season has gone about as poorly as one could have imagined. After back-to-back postseason berths, Toronto was at least expected to tread water this season. Whiffing on Shohei Ohtani stung, but adding Justin Turner and retaining most of the core should have been enough.

Alas, Toronto is dead last in the unforgiving AL East at 44-52. There's still time to right the ship, but not much of it, and the Blue Jays appear to be hurdling headlong toward a trade deadline sell-off. That is the death knell for wanna-be contenders. And, in this case, it could be the death knell for Toronto's manager.

GM Ross Atkins has already come under fire for years of mismanagement. From missed opportunities to simple lack of judgement, he has been unable to elevate Toronto above the fray and put the Blue Jays in the contenders circle. Last season, Toronto appeared close to a breakthrough, but suffered another early exit in the playoffs. That put Adkins squarely on the hot seat. That chair is burning.

But, one hot seat does not negate another, and we could be in a race to see which Blue Jays figurehead can outlast the other. John Schneider has managed Toronto since 2022 with a career record of 179-153. Not bad, but all it takes sometimes is one slip up — or a string of narrow misses — to sour your reputation.

John Schneider on the hot seat as Blue Jays trade deadline sell-off looms

The same issues ailing Atkins are ailing the public perception of Schneider. He's a relatively young and inexperienced manager. Maybe he's not "the one," as Levi Weaver and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic opine.

"Even if the Blue Jays keep Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette with the goal of competing in 2025, would they still consider Schneider the right choice for a win-now club?"

Maybe Toronto needs a new voice to get over the hump. That is a favorite excuse of stumbling, fumbling GMs, or owners unsure of where else to place the blame. As Dayn Perry of CBS Sports outlines, maybe Adkins could target Schneider's job as a way to deflect heat off of him. Firing the manager could convince ownership to give him one more shot in the GM chair.

"If the Jays indeed undertake a deadline sell-off, then GM Ross Atkins might seek to buy himself more time by parting ways with Schneider in the name of a fresh start. Among big-league managers, Schneider is probably on the hottest seat of all right about now."

Schneider is not perfect. No managers are. But, to pin the Blue Jays' woes on him feels like an oversimplification of a complex, multi-layered problem. A new voice could work wonders, especially with several appealing managers expected to become available next cycle, but it will take more than a fresh perspective to launch Toronto to the World Series. It will take a better team-building strategy, a more coherent vision top-to-bottom in the organization.

In the offseason, Toronto was in the mix for Ohtani and some of the best available players. This front office and ownership group are capable of operating aggressively. It's a matter of want, for all parties. Whether the coach sticks around or not is secondary to constructing a winning roster and taking the necessary steps financially to ensure that Toronto is a contending team.

Let's see who those decisions ultimately fall to next offseason.