⚡ LATEST UPDATE: An in-depth look at John Schneider’s 2025 campaign highlights the extraordinary managerial work powering the Blue Jays ⚡.DD
The Blue Jays organization cannot be anything less than impressed with the year turnaround that their manager had with the ballclub.
When the offseason comes around for any sport every single aspect that went into the year prior is fully under review: the good, the bad and the ugly. Plenty of things went right for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2025 which is why the ballclub made it all the way into the World Series.
What is surprising for most is that the roster that led them to their first Fall Classic since 1993 is also (mostly) the same group of guys that finished last in the AL East just one season ago. The only recognizable name from the playoffs that wasn’t a member of the 2024 team was their No.9 hitter Andrés Giménez.
So how did one offseason lead to the success that was just seen a month ago? While there were clearly many that went into this turnaround one man comes to mind, manager John Schneider.
From April to October with the Jays
The Blue Jays not only went from last to first in a calendar year, but persevered through a rocky start. It was already 50 games into the season and the Jays were under .500 and predicted to finish last, again. However, once they had been shutout 13-0 by the Rays, some sort of flip switched and they never looked back.
There were some notable moves made at the trade deadline that ended up being absolute necessities to the late year success that the team had. Their pitching staff, at the time, was the Achilles to what could be an exceptional season.
Management as a whole took a leap of faith with former Cy Young award winner Shane Bieber which clearly ended up being the right move. But, the starting rotation wasn’t the only part of the pitching staff that was bolstered at the deadline, but also with the addition of both Seranthony Domínguez and Louis Varland into the bullpen who were seen time and time again during the postseason.
Now, it is easy to look at the faults that were being widely critiqued when the Blue Jays were up against the World Champions. It is easy to point a finger at the 18-inning classic that the Jays ended up losing after Schneider got overly aggressive.
One thing to keep in mind is Schneider (and the other base coaches) stayed pedal to the metal all year long, especially in the thick of the AL East race. Would he have kept Bo Bichette in the game? Alejandro Kirk? Addison Barger? Maybe. Maybe not. Nobody could have guessed that pulling them throughout those last 10 innings would have lead to what it did and he wanted to end it then.
The highs and lows that the ballclub has had, Schneider has been there every step of the way. Now, he will be around even longer as his contract will now extend until 2031. The organization as a whole learned a lot during their latest success and will let their manager lead the way into opening day of 2026.
