Blue Jays name Charlie Montoyo their new manager
The Toronto Blue Jays have come to a decision on the successor to John Gibbons as their manager.
Blue Jays announce Charlie Montoyo as the 13th Manager in club history.
— Blue Jays PR (@BlueJaysPR) October 25, 2018
Charlie Montoyo has served as the bench coach for the Tampa Bay Rays since October 2015. He’s been in the Tampa organization since 1997, the year before they debuted in the major leagues while they were still known as the Devil Rays.
The 53-year-old’s run of success with Triple-A Durham was particularly impressive as he posted six division titles and two International League titles, making him the winningest manager in the history of the franchise.
Montoyo also played professional baseball for 10 seasons between 1987 and 1996. He made his only major-league cameo in 1993 appearing in four games with the Montreal Expos in which he managed two hits in five trips to the plate.
After the Blue Jays parted ways with Gibbons it was expected that they’d go with a younger, fresher face, and while Montoyo doesn’t fit that mold superficially, he brings experience from a progressive organization the Blue Jays front office is known to admire.
Another factor that may have appealed to the club is the fact that Montoyo is bilingual. With Vladimir Guerrero Jr. emerging as a potential franchise centrepiece in Toronto, the Blue Jays may have felt that having a manager who spoke fluent Spanish like the Puerto Rican Montoyo was important.
More Blue Jays coverage from Yahoo Sports:
