TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays’ commitment to Charlie Montoyo now runs through the 2022 season on paper, and Ross Atkins insists the club is intent on extending the relationship beyond that, too.
He wasn’t clear about the next steps in that regard, but after revealing Tuesday that the manager’s team option for next year had been exercised, the GM very much hitched himself to the 55-year-old running the dugout.
"This is a relationship and partnership that we want to see be sustainable," Atkins said, while tapdancing around whether extension talks to ensure that had taken place.
"Any employee in my career that we've ever hired, wherever we were, it's about a long-term commitment. It's not a let's-see-how-they-do relationship. It is let's focus on doing this together and how do we help one another improve."
Montoyo, heading into his third season at the Blue Jays helm, was a finalist for American League Manager of the Year honours after leading his team to a wild-card spot in the expanded playoffs last summer.
He signed a three-year deal with the club option when he joined the team from the Tampa Bay Rays, an organization in which he’d spent two decades. During a meeting this week, Atkins told him that his option was being exercised but the sides didn’t discuss adding years beyond that.
"This organization gave me my first chance to manage in the big-leagues and I will always be grateful to Mark (Shapiro, the club president and CEO) and Ross for that," said Montoyo. "I'm just proud of the job that our coaches and players did last year under difficult circumstances. It was a tough year. We battled and the coaches did a great job, and, of course, the players. We still have a lot of work to do. I'm glad they showed confidence by picking up my option. I'll do my best to contribute to our goal of winning a championship."
Montoyo inherited a punting-for-picks-95-loss mess in 2019 and then held steady through the pandemic chaos of 2020, when the Blue Jays weren’t sure where they could stage summer camp, let alone host their home games, eventually finding refuge at Buffalo Sahlen’s Field.
Ensuring that a difficult situation that could have easily come undone didn’t fray drew him praise, although he also wore criticism for some of the club’s unorthodox batting orders and a soft two-times-through-lineup cap on its starters.
Still, the modern manager the Blue Jays want for their club is someone who "understands that it takes a collective, especially in today's game and environment," to run a club and Montoyo has operated in precisely that fashion.
While Atkins credited him for being "very steady in game" and having "instincts (that) are incredible," he also added that "his collaboration with all of his staff just continues to be a strength. The character, the ability to create a very positive, constructive environment is very encouraging. I couldn't be happier working alongside him. "
To that end, the Blue Jays "want to make this work as a group," which Atkins said applies to the rest of the coaching staff, too.
The way things play out this year figures to be pivotal given the need to leverage a $150-million, six-year investment in George Springer, among other moves, and a young, rapidly improving core.
Beyond having to deliver on a roster with legitimate post-season potential, Montoyo must also help navigate the team through at least two homestands at the club’s spring home in Dunedin, Fla., plus more uncertainty about where the team’s home games will be beyond that.
Atkins offered no indication of where things sit in that regard, beyond reiterating the oft-stated platitudes about wanting to play in Toronto.
Montoyo, like all managers, also face challenges in managing the workload on pitchers as the season returns back to 162 games after the shortened 60-game campaign, along with divvying up at-bats on a deep roster.
That will require regular explanations about lineup decisions to someone who won’t be happy, but ensuring there are no grey areas with players is one of the most important lessons he’s drawn from his first two seasons in charge.
"My job is to keep communicating with the players," said Montoyo. "To me that's the biggest key to managing in the big-leagues. Not so much the Xs and Os out there during the game. It's the communication with the players. I think I honestly do a good job of that and my coaches do, too. I'm very lucky to have coaches like that, they're always communicating to the players and they know where they stand at all times."
The growth he’s shown thus far helped underscore Atkins’ faith in his suitability for the role.
"No matter how much preparation and experience you have – Charlie, I think, had as much preparation and experience managing as you could ask for – it's still very different when you're leading an organization the way that he is," said Atkins. "And he's embraced it. He's embraced it with humility. He's embraced all the challenges with an open mind and incredible character. He treats everyone the same. Our players really appreciate that. Obviously he's aware of individual needs and interests, but he's just a very fair, consistent human being that sets a great tone for our environment."
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., praised Montoyo’s ability to connect with players and the manner in which he communicates.
"That’s what makes a good manager," he said through interpreter Hector Lebron. "He lets us play, lets us have fun. Of course, at the same time he expects the best from us, to work hard for him. But definitely he knows how to communicate with everyone here. He’s a good manager for us."
