It sounds like John Schneider will be back managing the Blue Jays in 2025

Did Blue Jays manager John Schneider just let slip that he’s returning to the dugout again in 2025? We know that team president Mark Shapiro values consistency as a “competitive advantage”, but in his three years as manager, Toronto has finished in 2nd place, third place and now 5th place, with zero playoff game wins.

In a Q&A with Shi Davidi of Sportsnet, it sure sounds like Schneider will definitely be back again managing this team in 2025. Like Shapiro, Chris Bassitt and homegrown stars Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, his contract ends after next season, too. Per Davidi, “while he wouldn’t confirm that he’s been told he’ll be back as manager, the signs very much point to him running the dugout again when the club reconvenes in Dunedin, Florida, next spring.“

“Things are normal,” Schneider said when asked about his future and whether there have been any extension talks. “This time of year those conversations happen and those conversations have started to happen. I’ll keep them private. But we are looking forward to next year, and I think that we’ve got a good head start on it. I am under contract and I'm thrilled to continue to lead this team. Those conversations, I'll keep private for now.”

Recall that in his media availability on Aug. 7, Shapiro said, “… contextually, I’m a huge believer in stability and continuity, and that those are competitive advantages in professional sports, that reacting and change don’t necessarily mean improvement. We need to be better. We have to be better. And, again, I think stability and continuity and making adjustments are where I’m focused right now.”

We’ve also already heard from Davidi that it appears likely Ross Atkins will be back again as GM in 2025. Atkins apparently is participating in all of the different elements of planning for the make-or-break 2025 season. So it sure sounds like “stability and continuity and making adjustments” are the current plan for the offseason ahead, one that the Blue Jays will clearly have to “win” if they truly do intend to be competitive in 2025.

While many things will need to improve to avoid another last place finish in 2025, much of what happened in 2024 isn’t necessarily on the manager. Schneider wasn’t the architect of a bullpen which has a league-worst FIP of 4.85, has given up a league leading 89 home runs, and has gone from an fWAR of +4.6 in 2023 to -2.5 in 2024, a negative 7 wins above replacement players swing.

Schneider isn’t responsible for a player development group that couldn't produce any homegrown, MLB-ready relievers this year when Erik Swanson, Tim Mayza and Trevor Richards were all ineffective, and closer Jordan Romano was hurt. It wasn’t the manager who signed Justin Turner, Kevin Kiermaier Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Daniel Vogelbach last offseason to replace Brandon Belt, Matt Chapman and the 2023 version of Kiermaier; or, who didn't sign another big power bat to protect Guerrero in the lineup.

To his credit, he did guide the Blue Jays to the top Wild Card seeding in 2022 and the 6th seed last year. He also managed two of the only four minor league teams in the Blue Jays organisation that have won full season Championships in their respective leagues this century: the High-A Dunedin Blue Jays in 2017, and the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats in 2018, when he was named the Eastern League Manager of the Year; and, in 395 games as the Blue Jays manager, he’s compiled a 209-186 win-loss record for a .529 winning percentage.