Is John Schneider on the chopping block?

In a new article for The Athletic, baseball insider Ken Rosenthal lists Schneider among nine managers whose job could be in question as the season progresses. While it's a reasonable claim to make, especially considering how 2024 went, Schneider is a better manager than most people realize and deserves a lot of credit for the Blue Jays success over the past few years.

Schneider's winning percentage as Blue Jays manager currently sits at .523., which is better than both of his predecessors. It would be much higher if it weren't for a 74-88 record last season. After taking over in 2022, he led the team to a 46-28 record, good for a .623 winning percentage. He followed that up with a .549 winning percentage in 2023.

A lot of Schneider's fate will be tied to the Blue Jays front office and the team of Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro. The latter's contract expires after this season, while the former is up in 2026. If the Blue Jays put together a winning season it stands to reason that Atkins and Shapiro - and consequently Schneider - will stay. Lose, and the manager could be following his president out the door.

At the beginning of spring training, Shapiro opined that Schneider had the chance to become a «great, great major-league manager.» He very well could be. Schneider has shown flashes of that, but also been scrutinized for his in-game management, especially during the playoffs.

Still, he deserves a chance to become one.

Source: Ken Rosenthal for The Athletic.