Toronto Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro confirmed to reporters that general manager Ross Atkins will remain in his role.
Atkins’ future was up in the air after another disappointing end to the season without a playoff victory.
The Blue Jays entered the season with World Series-aspirations but barely snuck into the playoffs as the final wild-card, only to be swept by the Twins in a two-game series in which they only scored one run.
Atkins has been the general manager of the Blue Jays since October of 2015 and — after a run to the ALCS in 2016 — he oversaw a deep rebuild that saw the team bottom out with 95 losses in 2019. In the four seasons since, the Blue Jays have been swept out of the wild-card round of the playoffs three times and, in 2021, the club missed the post-season by one game.
Atkins’ tenure includes the arrival of generational stars Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette. The GM also raised Toronto’s payroll to record levels by signing established veterans including Hyun Jin Ryu, George Springer, Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt.
Aggressive trades for Berrios, Matt Chapman, Daulton Varsho and Jordan Hicks depleted the team’s prospect pool as Atkins went all in on this core. Now with the organization at a cross-roads, Atkins will be the one tasked with turning the current roster into a winner.
