Jays express ‘thirst’ for more innovation
New coaches expected to be ‘open-minded,’ GM says
TORONTO — There are only two survivors from John Gibbons’ coaching staff still with the Toronto Blue Jays — pitching coach Pete Walker and third base coach Luis Rivera — but Jays GM Ross Atkins said the organization will help the castaways land on their feet.
Atkins took part in a conference call on Wednesday morning to discus the club’s revamped coaching staff under new manager Charlie Montoyo. He thanked the former coaches who were fired from the big league staff and said he will do everything he can to help them land new gigs. Most of the former coaches let go still have a year on their contracts.
“From the very start, from the last day of the (2018) season, all of these individuals were free to talk to other clubs and we wanted to make sure that was clear to the other teams,” said Atkins. “Each situation is different and each discussion that were having — whether that’s with John Gibbons, DeMarlo Hale, Dane Johnson, Tim Leiper, Mike Mordecai, Brook Jacoby — all the interactions that we’re having are different about what’s ahead for them. (But) we want nothing more than the best for each of them and we’ll try to help them either land with us in a significant way or elsewhere.”
There’s a chance that some of them will remain with the organization, but in a different capacity than a major league coach.
The general theme of Atkins’ 17-minute discussion about the revamped staff on Wednesday was the spirit of “collaboration” and the “thirst” for information in terms of embracing new technology in the game.
“I think first and foremost is (being) open-minded,” said Atkins, when asked if there was a general theme in terms of the coaching additions he and Montoyo were looking to find. “In today’s game, the innovation that is occurring ... with information, with technology is changing rapidly. Everything is changing rapidly. So that was at the forefront of every discussion. I think the open minded nature of each individual, that was very important to Charlie. As important, certainly not less important, was collaboration. Guys that were willing to do things together and not wanting to stay in silos, not wanting to say, ‘This is my area and I want to be accountable for just this and nothing else.’ So the two things that we were pushing very hard on were collaboration and open-mindedness.
“What I am confident about is these guys will work together, they’re going to have a sincere thirst for that information, for being open-minded to do things differently,” Atkins continued. “It really just comes down to my confidence in their character, each of them having that thirst and curiosity for all the information that is available to them.”
One of the more interesting hires to the Blue Jays coaching staff was the addition of Shelley Duncan as the major league field coordinator, a new position with the club. Mordecai was previously the quality control coach, a similar type position. Duncan was most recently the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Double-A affiliate, the Jackson Generals.
“It’s a slight shift (from quality control coach) based on his skill set, his background and his passion, and Charlie’s vision for the role, which will be more of a development-focused role and thinking about big league players getting better on a daily basis,” Atkins said.
Atkins said new major league coach John Schneider, who was promoted after guiding the Jays’ Double-A affiliate New Hampshire Fisher Cats to an Eastern League title last year, will work with the club’s catchers, possibly with the minor league catchers as well.
The Jays announced the new staff on Tuesday. The other hirings include: Hitting coach Guillermo Martinez, who spent last season as Toronto’s hitting coordinator after a four-year stint as hitting coach for Advanced-A Myrtle Beach in the Chicago Cubs organization. Mark Budzinski is the new first base coach and Matt Buschmann the bullpen coach.