Blue Jays add Jeff Ware to MLB coaching staff

The Blue Jays announced this afternoon that Jeff Ware has been added to the coaching staff as an assistant to pitching coach Pete Walker with focus on the bullpen. Meanwhile, David Howell is moving from pitching strategist to assistant pitching/strategy coach.

Ware replaces Matt Buschmann, the former bullpen coach who departed the organization two weeks ago. The 52-year-old has coached in the Toronto farm system since 2014. He opened last year as pitching coach with their top affiliate in Buffalo. Midseason, Ware took over the Buffalo dugout as the Bisons’ interim manager when skipper Casey Candaele was called up as Jays’ interim bench coach after Toronto’s managerial change from Charlie Montoyo to John Schneider.

Howell, headed into his second season on an MLB staff, is just 25 years old. A graduate of the University of Minnesota in 2018, he spent a year as a graduate assistant at LSU before joining the Blue Jays in 2020. He spent that season working with minor league pitchers at the alternate training site and the ’21 campaign at the team’s rookie complex before making the jump to the majors.

The rest of the Jays’ staff has already been finalized. Schneider signed a three-year contract as manager and is headed into his first full season as an MLB skipper. He tabbed longtime manager Don Mattingly as his bench coach, while Walker and Guillermo Martinez are back as pitching and hitting coach, respectively. Keegan Matheson of MLB.com lists the entirety of the Jays’ 14-man staff.