GM Ross Atkins gives John Schneider vote of confidence: ‘He’s been strong and steady and patient during a really trying time’

A political statement for a club that has not come near expectations out of the gate. They entered today’s contest dead last in the AL East with a 19-24 record and sit 10.5 games back of the New York Yankees within the division. While things are sitting at roughly the 25% mark through the 2024 campaign, the Blue Jays continue to slip out of the postseason contention window, a time that the front office stated was at its peak with the core group of Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and the rest of the Jays staff having enough experience and ability to contend.

Which worked until it didn’t, such as this season and the resulting failure to record a postseason win since 2016 from a ball club Atkins inherited. This also wasn’t by surprise, as the club showcased their offensive struggles last season but Atkins defined the decline as a “blip” in the offseason, and one of the narratives behind why Justin Turner was the only reasonable offensive addition this past winter.

The elephant in the room – is there a selling date?

While Atkins did preach patience on the core players like Springer and Bichette figuring things out on the field, he also addressed the elephant in the room – is there a date to where the Jays call it a day and trade off some assets?

“It’s not like a hard date… We’re at the quarter pole and like once you get to the halfway mark, there’s not much you can do if the whole remains the same. We are not where we would like to be… We’ve seen some encouraging things as of late that have not resulted in wins. We have seen some encouraging things in our offense that we feel, with time and the talent on this team, we can certainly see righting this ship. However, that needs to start pretty soon.”

Considering the Jays current roster, one-year players and players on expiring contracts will likely be at the top of the trade list such as Yusei Kikuchi, Justin Turner, Danny Jansen, and Yimi García. However, the front office could move some bigger pieces like Guerrero Jr. or Bichette, who are free agent eligible after next season, should they feel the timing is right considering only José Berríos has an extension to stay with the club for the foreseeable future. That narrative is an article in its own right but for now, it doesn’t appear the Jays are willing to sell just yet.

When asked about the coaching staff, Atkins discussed his faith in the staff and especially in manager John Schneider, “He has been strong and steady and patient during a really trying time. His in-game decision-making has been really consistent. His communication with our players has been tireless.”

These remarks, combined with the earlier comment about needing to see some results, likely signal that Schneider is the go-to man for the role moving forward, but something needs to change to avoid going down the path they are currently on.

He will likely be on the hot seat should the Jays move further out of the playoff picture, but at the same point, you can only blame Schneider for so much on this squad. It stems from the top down, including Atkins and his inability to improve the offence this past winter, and involves the players on the field not hitting expectations. They should also be held accountable for their performance as well. Schneider is not exempt from this criticism, as he is no stranger to odd decisions that have impacted outcomes, but the accountability for the disappointing start to the season stems beyond just the manager.

Blue Jays prospects and their potential arrival

Lastly, when asked about the players in triple-A and whether they could be called upon in the near future, Atkins discussed how the club could utilize these players moving forward but with caution towards the current roster (including any potential trades).

“It’s just where and what position and which players would you subtract, not necessarily subtract from the team, but decrease playing time. The challenge remains the same with trades. If we were to acquire a player, at this point, you obviously are paying a premium. We can do that, we have the players to trade for that level of talent. We feel that the best contributions that could create that change in run scoring is going to come from within our clubhouse or with triple-A with the players that are here.”

Down in triple-A, the Blue Jays have a plethora of bats that are performing well right now – Orelvis Martinez, Spencer Horwitz, Nathan Lukes, Steward Berrora, Will Robertson, and Addison Barger – all who could find themselves in the big leagues sometime this season whether it is with Toronto or elsewhere in the league via trade. We have seen that success in triple-A doesn’t amount to immediate success in the big leagues, with Barger collecting just one hit in his cup of coffee earlier this season, but the current roster group isn’t producing enough right now, and some tough decisions might need to be made to make room for some of these prospects to attempt some sort of offensive shift.

Both Kevin Kiermaier and Daniel Vogelbach have struggled to put the ball with regularity while Cavan Biggio has seen his playing time decrease with the emergence of Davis Schneider, who has been one of the top Jays bats. Atkins isn’t wrong in saying that playing time would have to decrease for one or two players on the squad to accommodate a prospect or two but that’s a product of his own demise after he signed Kiermaier and Isiah Kiner-Falefa this past winter, both of whom didn’t add to the offensive production equation.

There were numerous free agents available this past winter who could have helped the Blue Jays offensive production values but only Turner was added, especially considering the front office preached using internal resources to generate offensive production on what many dictated as a down year at the plate. Trading one or two of Kiermaier, IKF, or Biggio or cutting someone like Vogelbach opens up some roster spots for the likes of Martinez and Horwitz and considering the team is looking for some power and offensive production, calling up these two is a good place to start barring an outside trade.

Final thoughts on the Atkins media availability

Looking ahead, the Ross Atkins presser didn’t add anything too much to what we already know, which is nothing new when it comes to an Atkins press conference. His statements are calculated and rival the local politician running for mayorship but ultimately, the team he has assembled is not producing at the plate and they are dead last in the division because of it. He’s not alone in the accountability tree, as the issue is widespread considering not many expected players like Springer or Bichette to struggle out of the gate as they did.

That being said, if Atkins is looking for urgency and something to change, then he, too, should be on the hot seat this summer.