Blue Jays make more coaching changes shortly after tough season
The Toronto Blue Jays are making more changes to their coaching staff.
As per Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi, the team is moving Gil Kim (field coordinator) and assistant pitching coaches Jeff Ware and David Howell into new roles away from the major league club.
More Blue Jays changes as Gil Kim (field-co-ordinator) and Jeff Ware (assistant pitching coach) won't be back on major-league staff, per multiple industry sources.
Club is working on potential re-assignments for both of them and David Howell, another assistant pitching coach.
— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) October 1, 2024
While the team doesn’t quite appear to be firing the three coaches, they seem to be essentially demoting them into minor league roles after a disappointing season for the club. The moves are the Jays’ second, third, and fourth in the past two days.
On Monday, Davidi and TSN’s Scott Mitchell both reported that the Blue Jays parted ways with Guillermo Martinez, the team’s longtime hitting coach.
Martinez had served in the role since 2019, having been in the Jays organization in various minor league roles since 2012.
The Jays finished 23rd in baseball with 671 runs scored across their 162 games, while finishing last place in the American League East with a 74-88 record. Meanwhile, the team allowed 743 runs throughout the season, the ninth-worst total across the MLB.
With the MLB postseason set to begin today, the Jays will be on the outside looking in for the first time since 2021 after making the playoffs in each of the last two seasons.
Toronto heads into the offseason with much uncertainty surrounding its roster and front office, as the team has yet to win a single postseason contest since the 2016 American League Championship Series. And so while assistant coaches getting a demotion might not exactly be the spiciest story ever, it could be a sign of further potential changes across the organization.