Charlie Montoyo has been fired as manager of the
Blue Jays, the club said Wednesday. Bench coach John Schneider was named interim manager through this season.
At 46-42, Toronto had fallen to fourth place in the American League East, 15 1/2 games behind the
Yankees and just four games ahead of the
Orioles. But the Blue Jays were coming off a 4-3 victory over the
Phillies on Tuesday night.
Montoyo signed a contract extension in April that was meant to keep him with the Blue Jays through at least the 2023 season, with options for 2024 and '25.
As late as July 2, the Blue Jays had held firmly in second place in the AL East. But the
Red Sox leaped them in the division, then the Rays followed. And on Monday, after the Mariners swept a weekend series against the Blue Jays, Seattle caught Toronto in a tie for the AL's final wild card.
But even after a recent 2-9 skid, the Blue Jays remain in playoff contention.
Montoyo began his tenure in Toronto in 2019, with the young Blue Jays on the verge of a rise. He oversaw a 67-95 season that year in the final step of a rebuild. Last season, the Jays went 91-71. In his three-plus years on Toronto's bench, Montoyo went 236-236.
With Schneider moving to interim manager, Triple-A manager Casey Candaele was appointed interim bench coach in Toronto.
The Blue Jays end a series with the Phillies on Wednesday and begin a four-game set with the
Kansas City Royals on Thursday.
