Blue Jays' front office needs to accept responsibility before turnaround can begin

The Toronto Blue Jays have a leadership problem. As subpar as the on-field product has been this season, as the 73-83 record and last place standing in the AL East attest, the problem starts at the top. Any organization’s success is a result of the culture from the top down. 

The Blue Jays front office has continually dropped the ball and constantly refuses to accept the blame and take responsibility for the current state of the franchise. What once looked like a team that would be a perennial postseason contender has experienced a sharp decline into a state of irrelevancy.

Blue Jays' front office needs to accept responsibility for failed run

Until president and CEO Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins stand up and take responsibility and are accountable for their mistakes from this failed run, it’s hard to see a path to a turnaround.

As radio host and financial guru Dave Ramsey says, "Without accountability, there is no trust, and without trust, there is no leadership."

The most blatant example of front office negligence occurred just over a year ago when the Blue Jays were actually in the playoffs — an experience so far out of reach for this year’s edition that it feels like a lifetime ago. Unfortunately, we all remember the 2023 Wild Card Series fiasco in Minnesota all too well.

In the fallout, the front office, specifically Atkins, refused to take accountability. Instead, he left it to manager John Schneider to fall on the sword. Even if the front office didn't have a hand in that game plan and input into the team's day-to-day, as the “top dog,” it falls on Atkins. Everything that happens, on and off the field, should fall on Atkins, and Shapiro.

To be fair, Shapiro did accept responsibility after last October's embarrassing playoff exit. But unsurprisingly, in the same breath he pointed the proverbial finger at Atkins, who he said needed to "get better" despite having "done a good job," per Yahoo's Ethan Diamandas.

As of yet, nothing seems to have stuck to the dynamic duo who, apart from coasting to the ALCS in 2016 on Alex Anthopoulos' coattails and slapping some lipstick on the Rogers Centre, has nothing to show for their almost nine years in charge.

Front office's mistakes began in the offseason

Realistically, this season probably got away from them last winter. They whiffed on signing Shohei Ohtani — something that, let’s be honest, was never going to happen. They missed Juan Soto and Cody Bellinger. Fine, so you didn't sign the biggest free agents; no problem, let's go to Plan B.

They fumbled the recovery play. With no backup plan in place, they were content to run it back with a few additions of long-in-the-tooth veterans who are now long gone.

Sure, some things didn’t break their way.

Bo Bichette had a career-worst season, punctuated by injuries. The starting rotation took more than four months to turn into the dominant force we had expected to see. The offense was middling at best in the first half. That's baseball; sometimes things don't go your way. However, everything on the field, merely being under the purview of the front office, falls squarely on Shapiro and Atkins’ shoulders.

Then there's the bullpen. It was built and rebuilt and then rebuilt some more, with each iteration somehow being worse than the last. The Blue Jays relief corps ranks dead last in the majors with a -2.6 fWAR. That's a failure of the architect.

From a public relations angle, they've been bailed out somewhat by an incredible offensive season from Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the positive late-season vibes of the Buffalo Boys, and the rotation's resurgence. However, nothing masks the fact that this team is in shambles as it stumbles to the end of the season.

Blue Jays players are willing to accept the blame

At least veteran pitcher Chris Bassitt is willing to take responsibility. He recently refused to blame anyone but the players. He even went so far as to specifically turn the blame away from Shapiro and Atkins.

“I think a lot of people are in the same boat as me,” Bassitt said about the players' struggles, per the Toronto Star's Mike Wilner. “They have had bad years, comparatively, to what they should be. That’s not the front office’s fault. We, as players, have got to be a lot better and I think a lot of us know that."

While that's true, and the players need to perform, it feels like they were set up to fail from the beginning. Luckily for Shapiro and Atkins, they feel the same way about laying blame. They’re more than happy to let someone else take the fall.

By all accounts, they're not going anywhere and will have another kick at the can this offseason. The Blue Jays are rumored to be one of the teams that will make a bid on this year's free agent darling, Juan Soto, again. Will Shapiro and Atkins have learned their lesson from this failed run and have a backup plan for when they strike out? They need to take responsibility for the product they put on the field and buckle down, as there's plenty of work to be done.