3 former Blue Jays players who should replace John Schneider as manager

The 2024 MLB season was perhaps the toughest year for Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider since taking over the role back in July of 2022. After having some sustained success in leading the Jays to the postseason for the previous two campaigns, the team took a big step backwards this year and missed the playoffs entirely. Many players struggled with consistent production, while the pitchers were plagued with injuries and ineffectiveness.

Despite the troublesome hand that was dealt to Schneider, he managed to still squeak out 74 wins from the Jays. That was quite the feat considering there was a mass exodus of key players at the trade deadline, along with the sudden addition of makeshift replacements to fill all the remaining holes. On top of that, kudos to Schneider for actually doing a fine job with some of the prospects that received playing time down the stretch, as they helped the Jays to a somewhat respectable 23-29 record to finish off the season.

When all was said and done, it appears as though Schneider will likely be returning for the 2025 season. However, despite all of his heroic efforts, it doesn’t take away from the fact that it was still the third consecutive season in which the Jays’ overall regular season record had gotten worse. On top of that, both their offense and pitching has gone from being in the upper echelon in the league in 2022, all the way down to the bottom third of the league in just a span of two years.

If Schneider’s way doesn’t appear to be helping the team to win anymore, perhaps there could be some other worthy managerial candidates that could help right the ship. What better way to do so than to go back and look for some former Jays’ players that have had proven success at winning. Not only did they once bleed Blue Jays blood, it could be enough to provide the team with the necessary spark needed to get back to their winning ways.

As a result, let’s take a look at three former Blue Jays players that could replace Schneider as manager and surprisingly bring some much-needed success to the team. With Buster Posey recently taking a high rank in the Giants' front office, now feels like the perfect time to look at players who could fill a coaching or executive role on the Jays.

Mike Matheny

Another strong candidate to take over the Jays’ dugout would be former catcher Mike Matheny. Matheny was originally drafted by Toronto in the 31st round back in 1988 out of high school. However, he ended up attending college and later became a Milwaukee Brewers eighth-rounder in 1991 instead. Nevertheless, Matheny would eventually make his way back to the Jays for 1999 season through free agency, serving as the backup to Darrin Fletcher at the time. In 57 games, he batted .215 with a .578 OPS, along with 16 runs scored, 6 doubles, 3 home runs and 17 RBI. He may not have posted his best numbers in a Jays’ uniform, but he would go on to have a solid 13-year MLB career, while capturing four Gold Gloves in the process.

With his ability to call a great game along his exceptional defensive skills behind the plate, Matheny would take those skills and knowledge of the game and transfer them over to his managerial duties starting from the 2012 season. In his ten seasons manning the dugout for both the St, Louis Cardinals and later the Kansas City Royals, he helped lead the Cardinals to four playoff berths. That included reaching the World Series in 2013, but falling just short to the Boston Red Sox. In addition, in his seven years with St. Louis, the team never finished below third in the NL Central, along with capturing three division titles along the way. Despite having some less success with the Royals, Matheny was still able to maintain a career .522 winning percentage during the regular season. Overall, he has racked up 756 total wins as a manager, along with 21 more in the postseason.

So if the Jays are looking for someone with great vision and a boatload of winning and playoff experience as a proven manager, Matheny should be their man. He has only been out of baseball for the past couple of years, so he should be hungry to get back into the action when given the opportunity. A reunion with his former team would certainly do the trick.

José Bautista

This one definitely would be the sentimental favourite among Jays’ fans. After all, José Bautista brought almost a decade of hope, fun and excitement to Toronto during his tenure with the club. Not only can he be found already on the Jays’ Level of Excellence, he has also provided many lasting memories to Toronto and their faithful. In particular, his most notable “bat-flip” home run in Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS against the Texas Rangers that will no doubt live on forever in Jays’ history. With 288 home runs and 766 RBI in his 10-year tenure with Toronto, his energetic vibes just breeds success whenever with the team.

One main characteristic that makes Bautista a great candidate to lead the current squad is his strong desire and passion to win. Not to take anything away from any of the Jays’ managers in the past few years, but none of them possessed the persona and energy that Bautista has for the game of baseball. Just take for instance his reaction at the 2014 trade deadline when the Jays failed to make any major moves despite being in contention. Bautista let everyone know how badly he wanted to win with the team and adamantly voiced his displeasure when they failed to provide any significant upgrades in the end,

On top of that, Bautista has over 1798 games of experience under his belt over his 15-year career in the major leagues. More importantly, he has been through all the ups and downs with the Jays’ teams he has been on and knows exactly which strategies may work and which may not. The only caveat compared to the other two promising candidates above is the fact that he doesn’t have any prior managing experience in his resume. However, Bautista does have some previous front office experience when he worked as a special advisor to the general manager for the Leones del Escogido of the Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League. Moreover, everyone needs a starting point, so what better place to do so than to go back to where he has had the most impact in his career. If it ever comes to fruition, hopefully he can continue to bring much more success and everlasting memories to the Jays in his new role.