![\"Text](\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/a\/assets\/texttospeech.svg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Listen to this article<\/p>\n
Estimated 3 minutes<\/p>\n
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n
The Toronto Blue Jays locked in their leadership group Monday with extensions for Ross Atkins and John Schneider.<\/p>\n
Atkins’s five-year deal runs through 2031, while Schneider’s covers 2028.<\/p>\n
The moves follow Toronto’s 94-win season, American League East title and a seven-game<\/a> World Series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers last year.<\/p>\n Schneider, 46, has a 303-257 record since taking over as manager in July 2022 and was runner-up for American League manager of the year last season.<\/p>\n He is entering his fourth full season as skipper after the Blue Jays picked up his 2026 option last season.<\/p>\n “Schneids has been, and will continue to be, an exceptional leader and manager in professional baseball because of his unwavering commitment to players,” said Atkins.<\/p>\n Schneider is the 14th manager in franchise history and succeeded Charlie Montoyo in July 2022, helping guide Toronto to a wild-card berth that season.<\/p>\n The Blue Jays were swept in the wild-card round in 2022 by Seattle and again in 2023 by Minnesota before slipping to a 74-win season in 2024.<\/p>\n Toronto rebounded in 2025, securing the division title on the final day of the regular season and advancing to the World Series for the first time since 1993.<\/p>\n ‘A privilege to be part of this organization’<\/p>\n Schneider, a native of Princeton, N.J., has spent more than two decades with the organization after being drafted by Toronto in 2002 and later working his way through the minor-league system.<\/p>\n “I am ecstatic to continue leading the Blue Jays as we work to bring our incredible fans a championship team,” said Schneider. “It’s been a privilege to be part of this organization for nearly 25 years, and the work the Blue Jays continue to do excites me every day.”<\/p>\n Atkins, 52, was hired in December 2015 and is the second-longest tenured GM in franchise history.<\/p>\n The Blue Jays reached the post-season five times under his leadership, but won playoff games only in 2016 before last year’s run.<\/p>\n Toronto struggled through a rebuild that bottomed out in 2018 and 2019 before returning to contention during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.<\/p>\n “Ross has done an outstanding job in building a deep foundation with an accomplished Baseball Operations team, best-in-class resources, and a collaborative culture,” said Mark Shapiro, Toronto’s president and CEO. “I am a strong supporter of stability and continuity, and Ross continues to make us better.”<\/p>\n Shapiro signed a five-year contract extension in December 2025, keeping him with the club through the 2030 season.<\/p>\n Atkins helped secure franchise cornerstone Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a 14-year, $500-million US extension in April 2025, one of the richest deals<\/a> in team history.<\/p>\n