Toronto Blue Jays: Will Jon Gibbons be retained in 2017?
MLB writer Jon Heyman recently wrote that Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons may not be brought back in 2017.
The Toronto Blue Jays enter play Saturday with a record of 33-30, just 4.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East.
The team is looking to return to the playoffs after losing to the Kansas City Royals in the ALCS last season, and a World Series berth may be the only thing that will allow manager John Gibbons to keep his job in 2017, according to Jon Heyman.
Heyman wrote an article on Today’s Knuckleball about 30 players who could be traded, but had some interesting thoughts about Gibbons later on in the piece:
"Manager John Gibbons is thought to be safe for the foreseeable future. But it seems like a long shot that he’d be brought back for 2017, barring a huge year. Eric Wedge, who’s already serving as a Jays consultant, and Red Sox bench coach Torey Lovullo would be perhaps the two most logical candidates for a Mark Shapiro-run team. Wedge was the Indians’ long-time manager, and Lovullo the Indians’ long-time Triple-A manager."
This is an interesting point, as Gibbons has his salary guaranteed through 2017. He also got the Blue Jays back to the playoffs for the first time since 1993, when the team won its second consecutive World Series title.
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But the hiring of Mark Shapiro as team president and CEO at the end of last year means he may want to bring in one of his own people to manage the team if Gibbons cannot reproduce or improve upon last year’s results.
Eric Wedge served as the manager of the Cleveland Indians from 2003-2009, but only got the team into the postseason in 2007, when the Indians lost in the ALCS to the Boston Red Sox.
Aside from last season, Gibbons usually had the team hover around the .500 mark during his time as manager, so Shapiro may want to change things up and see if it makes any difference.
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There is a great deal of talent on the Blue Jays, so there is no reason why the team should miss the playoffs this season. If that is the case, Gibbons may be out as Blue Jays manager for a second time.