Oct. 1: Along with Martinez, the Blue Jays are reassigning discipline coordinator Gil Kim and assistant pitching coaches Jeff Ware and David Howell, experiences Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. It appears they’ll stay with the membership in different capacities however will not have direct roles on the most important league employees.
Kim was employed again in 2016, taking over the function of director of participant improvement. He’s been on the massive league employees since 2020. Ware was a minor league pitching coordinator and pitching coach within the Jays’ system for a number of years earlier than becoming a member of the massive league employees with a specific deal with the group’s bullpen in 2023. Howell was in his third season on the massive league employees, and his focus has been on common pitching technique.
Toronto shall be looking out for no less than 4 new staffers heading into the 2025 season, although it’s doable that further adjustments shall be made.
Sept. 30: The Blue Jays are parting methods with hitting coach Guillermo Martinez, experiences Scott Mitchell of TSN (X hyperlink). It’s the primary change to John Schneider’s employees on the heels of a disappointing season.
Martinez has been Toronto’s hitting coach because the 2018-19 offseason. The Jays have additionally employed Don Mattingly as bench coach and offensive coordinator for the previous couple seasons. Nevertheless the Jays divided duties between Mattingly and Martinez, they’ll search for a brand new voice at hitting coach.
The Jays had excessive expectations this 12 months after successful between 89 and 92 video games in every of the earlier three seasons. As a substitute, Toronto completed on the backside of the AL East with a 74-88 exhibiting. The offense was a giant a part of that. The Jays completed twenty third in MLB with 671 runs. Their price stats have been nearer to common. They hit .241/.313/.389, ending between thirteenth and twentieth within the slash classes. The Jays have been twenty sixth in house runs, although, definitely not offering the sort of energy they’d anticipated. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. linked on 30 homers; nobody else on the group reached 20.
Guerrero seems to be like a high 10 hitter in MLB. The Jays bought promising work out of rookie infielder Spencer Horwitz. There wasn’t a ton else that went proper for the group offensively. Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Justin Turner have been traded midseason. Leo Jiménez was the one different hitter (minimal 200 plate appearances) with a greater than common wRC+, and his .229/.329/.358 line was marginally above par. Toronto’s greatest deal with the offensive facet is getting Bo Bichette again on observe. The star shortstop entered the 2024 marketing campaign as a profession .299/.340/.487 hitter. He hit .225/.277/.322 this season round a trio of injured listing stints.