MLB: Four Managers on the Hot Seat Early in the Season

John Gibbons

Not too many people saw the Toronto Blue Jays struggling this early in the 2017 season. Manager John Gibbons and his Blue Jays are 5-13 to start off the season.

In 2016, the Blue Jays made the playoffs as the second Wild Card team in the AL. They defeated the Baltimore Orioles in the AL Wild Card Game and then defeated the Texas Rangers in the ALDS before losing to the Cleveland Indians in the ALCS.

In the offseason, the Blue Jays lost two big bats in Michael Saunders and Edwin Encarnacion, but they added Kendrys Morales to the club. Much like the Angels, the Blue Jays DL is also crowded. Troy Tulowitzki, Josh Donaldson, J.A. Happ, Aaron Sanchez and J.P. Howell are all key players that are injured.

Despite the injuries, the Blue Jays are off to a brutal start. In a tough division like the AL East, a slow start can equal early elimination. A start like this easily puts Gibbons on the hot seat.

So far this season, the Blue Jays rank 26th in runs scored, 25th in batting average and 24th in home runs.

Gibbons took over the team in the 2012-13 offseason. Gibbons brought the Blue Jays to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons (2015 and 2016). In a game that comes down to what have you done for me lately, a really bad record could send Gibbons out of Toronto despite his prior success.