TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays moved quickly by making some coaching changes after a last-place finish in the American League East. Now the heavy lifting begins. General manager Ross Atkins has his work cut out for him entering the off-season.
The offence requires a big boost, the bullpen needs an overhaul and star players Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette are entering the final year of their contracts. The to-do list is long and the pressure is on to turn things around while the team's competitive window remains open.
"I need to be better and I have got to do a better job of building (the) team around a very good core that has been successful," Atkins said Wednesday. "I'm committed to doing so." Atkins has spent almost nine years with the franchise but the team hasn't won a playoff game since 2016.
He guided the Blue Jays to the wild-card series in 2020, '22 and '23 but they were swept each time. Atkins took a gamble by essentially running back last year's roster and it didn't work out. A slow start was followed by a slump in mid-June.
The trade deadline became a sell-off and the Blue Jays' last three months of the schedule were spent in last place. Early-season optimism of a playoff return faded rather quickly. "We objectively thought that we had a team that was good enough to win the American League East and play in the post-season," said team president Mark Shapiro, who confirmed Atkins would be back in 2025.
"I can't think of a bigger disconnect from expectations .