The Toronto Blue Jays confirmed on Wednesday that they have fired manager Charlie Montoyo, after a disappointing first half of the 2022 season. Toronto announced bench coach John Schneider will be the interim manager for the remainder of the season, while Casey Candaele will be the interim bench coach.

Montoyo’s firing comes after the Blue Jays have lost nine of their last 11 games, dropping them below the Rays and the Red Sox in the division standings. The Blue Jays hold a 46–42, and are fourth in the American League   East heading into next week’s All-Star break. Although Toronto are still in possession of one of the three AL Wild Card spots, the team’s performance has been underwhelming, given that they were expected to compete for a division title.

The 56-year-old Montoyo earned a 236–236 record over the last three and a half seasons with Toronto, however, the Blue Jays never finished above third in the AL East during his tenure and made the playoffs just one time during the shortened 2020 season. Montoyo spent almost two decades with the Tampa Bay Ray’s organization before joining Toronto in 2019.

Editorial credit: Lester Balajadia / Shutterstock.com