The Toronto Blue Jays fired manager Charlie Montoyo on Wednesday, despite the team sitting in playoff position as the All-Star break approaches.
The team statement said bench coach John Schneider will serve as interim manager through the end of the season. Casey Candaele will be the interim bench coach.
Entering play Wednesday, the talent-laden Toronto team was 46-42 and 15.5 games out in the American League East, baseball’s toughest division. They are 3-9 in July, however.
The Yankees are running away with the division, and the Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox and Blue Jays currently occupy the three wild-card spots in the AL. The Jays are 16-18 in division play.
The Blue Jays hired Montoyo before the 2019 season, and he compiled a 236-236 record with just one playoff appearance — a 2-0 loss in the best-of-three wild-card series against the Rays in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
The Jays announced in April that they had signed Montoyo, 56, to a contract extension through the 2023 season. He spent nearly 20 years in the Rays organization before the Blue Jays hired him.
The Blue Jays host the Philadelphia Phillies Wednesday night.
–Field Level Media