After coming within two outs of winning the World Series, Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider will return to the dugout for 2026.
Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins announced Thursday that the club had previously exercised the team option in Schneider’s contract for 2026, adding that they are talking about “the potential of that being longer.”
“Schneids has been unbelievable,” Atkins said. “He is a clear leader in this organization and really, really good in his job.”
Schneider first stepped into the Blue Jays gig as interim manager in 2022, taking over for the fired Charlie Montoyo for 78 games to end the season. He was handed the full-time gig that October, leading the Blue Jays to the top wild-card spot before being swept by the Seattle Mariners.
He helped the Blue Jays return to the playoffs in 2023, where they again were swept — this time by the Minnesota Twins — and missed the post-season entirely in 2024, leading to questions about his future.
Schneider answered those emphatically, guiding the Blue Jays to their first World Series appearance in 32 years and even taking a lead into the ninth inning of Game 7.
In the regular season, he oversaw a 20-win turnaround as the Blue Jays won the AL East at 94-78 while leading MLB with 49 comeback wins.
Schneider’s Blue Jays then beat the New York Yankees in the ALDS and the Seattle Mariners in the ALCS before falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.
“I think he keeps getting better,” Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro said Thursday. “That’s a pretty good sign for leaders, when they continue to stay open-minded, learn and get better.
“He certainly put himself among the top group of managers in the game and led us through some tough moments this year, and was at the helm for some great moments. He continues to be a factor and make us better.”
Prior to taking over with the MLB club, he spent 15 seasons in the Blue Jays’ minor-league system, including six as a player before transitioning to coaching.
He managed Blue Jays stars Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, a pending free agent, throughout the minors, including a championship run in double-A.
