The Toronto Blue Jays have extended the contract of Charlie Montoyo, giving their manager another year through the 2023 season with a pair of options beyond that, according to two industry sources.
Completed in recent weeks, the agreement provides another layer of security for the 56-year-old, who is heading into his fourth season with the club. Montoyo originally signed a three-year deal that included an option for 2022 that was exercised last spring.
“I love being a Blue Jay,” Montoyo said once the extension was announced Friday morning. “I love the fans, I love Toronto and it’s exciting. I’m excited about this team.”
Asked to describe his strengths as a manager, Montoyo pointed to his relationships with players.
“You can call me a players’ manager because I communicate,” he said. “I think I do a good job of communicating with my players and I think they know they can (expect) that.”
Over his three seasons thus far, Montoyo has compiled a 190-194 record in spite of being charged with overseeing a 95-loss teardown season in 2019.
During the shortened 60-game pandemic season in 2020, he led a young group forced into refuge at triple-A Buffalo’s Sahlen Field to a 32-28 finish and a berth in the expanded playoffs.
Last year, when the Blue Jays played home games in Dunedin, Fla., Buffalo and Toronto, they were 91-71 and fell one game short of the post-season in a four-90-win-teams American League East.
— With files from Ben Nicholson-Smith.
