Breaking News: players rejoice as MLB BLUE manager sacked coach

Schneider, 42, spent six seasons as a catcher in the Blue Jays minor-league system. He was hired in 2008 as an organizational catching instructor and then managed at various levels, winning championships with the Vancouver Canadians in 2011, the Dunedin Blue Jays in 2017 and New Hampshire Fisher Cats in 2018.

He was promoted to Toronto in 2019 and became Montoyo’s bench coach this spring.

‘There are things we can all do better’

At his press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Schneider said he hadn’t talked to Montoyo but planned to reach out before the game.

Schneider was on his way to have lunch with his wife and two sons at a Rogers Centre sports restaurant when Atkins phoned him.

“Over the course of a season, there’s ups and downs, and I think this has been a weird time of the season,” Schneider said. “You can say certain guys are underperforming. You can say certain coaches are underperforming.

“There are things we can all do better.”

Schneider has 74 games remaining in the regular season to see if he can push the Blue Jays to do better. He has already managed many of the Blue Jays who have come up through the club’s system and has been around the big team for four years.

“He’s fun, he communicates, he knows the game,” Toronto outfielder George Springer said. “He’s a very energetic guy. He likes to have fun. There’s never really a dull moment with him.

“Hopefully, who he is as a person will kind of ooze onto us as players and allow us to relax a little bit, have a little bit more fun and kind of enjoy the day.

“Us as players know things could be better. Things have to be better. We understand what we all can do. It hasn’t really shown yet. I think that’s the frustrating part.”