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 in the time that I've been here."
Injuries to key players like Bichette, closer Jordan Romano and starter Alek Manoah didn't help, but underperformance and a lack of organizational depth compounded matters.
An aging but solid starting rotation remains and adding a big bat should be a top priority. The bullpen is also in need of serious attention after trades, injuries and inconsistency led to poor results.
"You have to have internal solutions and progress and you have to have external adds for a market like ours and a team like ours, for us to take another step," Atkins said.
"We are committed to making that happen. We'll be obsessive about making that happen and believe we will."
The Blue Jays were a top-10 team in spending with a payroll of US$234 million this year, per Spotrac. Shapiro wouldn't provide specifics on future numbers but noted support from team ownership has remained strong.
"It's not going to limit anybody Ross pursues in the off-season -- anybody -- so there's always some flexibility within that number," he said. "I don't see it being dramatically different next year."
The regular season ended last weekend in ugly fashion as the Blue Jays were swept by the lowly Miami Marlins and outscored 26-7 along the way.
In the days that followed, hitting coach Guillermo Martinez was let go and field co-ordinator Gil Kim and assistant pitching coach Jeff Ware learned they won't return to their previous roles.
Don Mattingly will shift back to a bench coach role after serving one season as offensive co-ordinator, Atkins said.
The changes were likely just the start for a franchise that appears to be in make-or-break mode.
"Playing September baseball games without playoff implications is painful," Shapiro said. "It's tough and it's not where we want to be."
The Blue Jays' 74-88 mark was their worst record since a 67-95 showing in 2019.
"This year was a significant setback," Shapiro said. "It's not work that we're proud of. It's not work that (Atkins) is proud of and not work that I'm proud of.
"Ross needs to be better, I need to be better, our entire baseball operations need to be better."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2024.
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Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press
