Blue Jays explain decision to bring back John Schneider: "He keeps getting better"

The Toronto Blue Jays front office doesn’t appear to be concerned about public perception at this time.

Following an ugly season in which the Blue Jays had an AL-East worst 74-88 record, President Mark Shapiro held a press conference to address the fan base. Any hopes of calming fans down, however, didn’t work out, as they are now even more agitated after learning that both Ross Atkins and John Schneider will be returning for the 2025 season.

Given the speculation over the past month, seeing Atkins retain his position doesn’t come as a major surprise. Schneider’s return, however, has caught many off guard. According to Shapiro, a big part of the reason is that the front office believes he has shown great improvement as a manager since first stepping into the role partway through the 2022 season.

“I thought Schneids had a good year from a standpoint of what I said earlier. We stayed solution-focused in the light of a lot of headwind, a lot of challenges, setbacks, injuries,” Shapiro said. “He was just focused on how to lead his staff to find a way to get better. That is not always easy to do. It’s easy to feel sorry for yourself. It’s easy to point fingers and place blame.

“I think he keeps getting better and will continue to get better.”

In Schneider’s defence, plenty of the blame should be placed on the front office. In recent years, the front office has made several questionable moves that have hurt the team in many ways, particularly at the plate.

This group will have one final chance to make things right and get back on track in 2025. Schneider will undoubtedly be on the hot seat from the get-go, and if they were to miss playoffs once again, it’s safe to assume Atkins will be out as well.

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