John Gibbons won’t be back next season.
According to multiple reports, the Toronto Blue Jays will make it official on Wednesday, giving their longtime manager one last hurrah in front of the hometown fans.
Sources indicate that the #BlueJays will announce before today’s game vs #Astros that John Gibbons will not return as manager in 2019. He will likely finish the season with the club.
— Steve Phillips (@StevePhillipsGM) September 26, 2018
#BlueJays will announce that John Gibbons won’t be returning as manager for 2019 season today, per multiple industry sources. Announcement will be confirming what’s been known for weeks.
— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) September 26, 2018
The Blue Jays play their last home game of the season Wednesday against the Houston Astros, before heading on the road for their final three games, in Tampa Bay.
Only Cito Gaston has managed the Blue Jays longer and won more games than Gibbons, who has compiled a 791-787 record in 11 seasons in charge.
But with most of the core of the 2015 and 2016 teams now past their prime or moved on to other teams, the Blue Jays have plummeted. They currently sit in fourth place in the American League East Division with a 71-87 record and have been out of playoff contention for some time.
The team is now in a full-scale rebuild.
“Maybe they would benefit from getting a new fresh face that could grow with the young players. I’m not so sure I want to go through one of those things – a total rebuild,” Gibbons said, when pressed about his future last month.