David Bell has stepped down as Blue Jays assistant GM and VP of baseball operations, positions he has held since the winter of 2024. Bell told The Athletic, “I decided to step away and reassess where I can make the greatest impact, on and off the field. The Toronto Blue Jays are Show more
David Bell steps down as Blue Jays assistant GM and vice-president of baseball operations
Photo credit: Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 3, 2026, 14:06 EST
The Toronto Blue Jays will enter the opening weeks of the MLB offseason without one of their senior baseball operations executives after David Bell stepped down from his roles as assistant general manager and vice-president of baseball operations.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal first reported Bell’s departure Tuesday. Bell joined Toronto’s front office in November 2024 after spending six seasons as manager of the Cincinnati Reds.
Speaking to The Athletic, Bell said he decided to “step away and reassess where I can make the greatest impact, on and off the field.”
He also expressed his appreciation for the organization and the people he worked with during his two years in Toronto.
Bell’s departure comes at a pivotal point in the Blue Jays’ offseason, with MLB free agency having opened Monday. With several roster decisions ahead following a disappointing 2026 campaign, the team looks to rebound.
Bell comes from a three-generation Major League Baseball family. His father, Buddy Bell, and grandfather, Gus Bell, both played in the majors.
A Cincinnati native, Bell was selected by Cleveland in the seventh round of the 1990 MLB Draft and made his major league debut on May 3, 1995.
He spent 12 seasons in the majors with six organizations, recording a .257 batting average, .320 on-base percentage and .396 slugging percentage, with 123 home runs and 589 RBIs across 1,403 games.
One of the more notable moments of his playing career came on June 28, 2004, when he hit for the cycle with the Philadelphia Phillies. The accomplishment made him and his grandfather the first grandfather-grandson combination in major league history to hit for the cycle.
Following his playing career, which ended in 2006, Bell moved into coaching and managing. He managed in the Cincinnati Reds’ minor-league system before joining the Chicago Cubs as a third-base coach in 2013. He later spent four seasons on the St. Louis Cardinals’ coaching staff and one year as the San Francisco Giants’ vice-president of player development.
Cincinnati hired Bell as its manager in October 2018. He finished his six-season tenure with a 409-456 record and one postseason appearance, leading the Reds to the playoffs in 2020. Cincinnati was eliminated in a two-game Wild Card Series sweep by the Atlanta Braves.
The Reds finished 2023 with an 82-80 record before Bell was dismissed on Sept. 23, 2024, with the team at 76-81. Cincinnati finished the season at 77-85 after bench coach Freddie Benavides managed the final five games.
Toronto hired Bell on Nov. 15, 2024, bringing his experience as a major league manager and coach into the organization’s front office.
His responsibilities extended beyond major league roster construction. According to the team’s announcement at the time of his hiring, Bell oversaw the player development and physical and mental performance departments while contributing to major league strategic planning, reporting directly to general manager Ross Atkins.
Bell’s position was designed to cover responsibilities previously held by Ben Cherington, who served as Toronto’s vice-president of baseball operations before leaving to become general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2019.
Bell was also one of three assistant general managers in Toronto’s baseball operations department, alongside Joe Sheehan and Michael Murov.
According to Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi, Toronto is now looking to fill Bell’s leadership role, rather than simply distributing his responsibilities among existing staff.
As @Ken_Rosenthal reported, David Bell left the Blue Jays as VP of baseball ops and assistant GM. Per source, the Jays are looking fill the role at a leadership level. Bell was hired to cover the work Ben Cherington did before he was named Pirates GM. Bell oversaw the player Show more
David Bell has stepped down as Blue Jays assistant GM and VP of baseball operations, positions he has held since the winter of 2024. Bell told The Athletic, “I decided to step away and reassess where I can make the greatest impact, on and off the field. The Toronto Blue Jays are
Bell’s departure comes following a significant reversal in the Blue Jays’ on-field results.
Toronto finished 94-68 in 2025, won the American League East and advanced to Game 7 of the World Series before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The club struggled to maintain that success in 2026, finishing 79-83 and last in the AL East. The disappointing season prompted questions about the direction of the roster and the organization’s next steps.
Atkins acknowledged the need for a broader evaluation during his September 30 media availability, saying “everything needs to be assessed.”
As Toronto turns its attention to the 2027 season, filling Bell’s position will be another important decision for the organization. Bell leaves after two seasons in the Blue Jays’ front office, bringing an extensive background as a major league player, coach and manager to the organization.
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