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MLB insider on potential front office changes: “Atkins appears to be in the most danger”
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Photo credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
Cam Lewis
Jul 14, 2024, 20:30 EDTUpdated: Jul 14, 2024, 20:47 EDT
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The Toronto Blue Jays are limping into the All-Star break with a 44-52 record following a sweep-avoiding 8-7 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday.
They’re 14 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for the American League East crown at the middle point of the season and they’re nine-and-a-half games back in the Wild Card race, ahead of only the Los Angeles Angeles, Oakland A’s, and Chicago White Sox in the standings.
The front office has reportedly told other teams that they’re prepared to sell off impending free agents ahead of the trade deadline but they’ll be keeping players who are under control beyond this season, such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette.
As it stands right now, general manager Ross Atkins will guide the Blue Jays through the selling process for the second time in his tenure with the organization. That said, it’s difficult to say if he’ll be the one leading the retool going into 2025.
During the team’s rebuilding seasons in 2018 and 2019, Atkins traded J.A. Happ, Steve Pearce, Josh Donaldson, Aaron Sanchez, and Marcus Stroman for Billy McKinney, Brandon Drury, Santiago Espinal, Julian Merryweather, Derek Fisher, Anthony Kay, and Simeon Wood Richardson, a mixed bag of results. The best seller move Atkins made came in 2017 when he flipped veteran left-hander Francisco Liriano to the Houston Astros for Teoscar Hernandez.
This year, the players who could be on the move are Yusei Kikuchi, Danny Jansen, Yimi Garcia, Trevor Richards, Justin Turner, and Kevin Kiermaier. According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, the only player who is likely to net the Blue Jays a significant return to Kikuchi, while the Chicago Cubs have interest in Jansen.
“The free-falling Blue Jays will soon start their fire sale, while keeping Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Rival GMs say the only player who will bring a significant return is starter Yusei Kikuchi. The Blue Jays’ bright future suddenly looks quite murky. The Chicago Cubs have expressed interest in Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen.”
Nightengale also noted that Atkins is among three front-office executives whose jobs are under pressure right now.
“Baseball executives are starting to believe that Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins, Padres GM A.J. Preller, and Farhan Zaidi, Giants president of baseball operations, all may have to make the playoffs to assure they keep their jobs.
Atkins appears to be in the most danger.”
The Blue Jays, Padres, and Giants are all big-budget teams who are having underwhelming seasons, but the latter two are in the picture for the wide-open National League wild-card race, so it makes sense that Atkins is the one highlighted among the three.
Many fans have been asking for Atkins to be fired and replaced by somebody else, but, as Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi noted back in June, the Blue Jays value stability and continuity. Davidi also suggested the possibility of Atkins being moved into a different role in the off-season and James Click taking over as general manager.
“But without a spectacular turnaround change is coming. One potential way this could play out is for Ross Atkins, who is signed through 2026, to remain general manager through the trade deadline, bear the brunt of a sell-off and then sometime in August or September, shift into a different role with the club (see Dave Hudgens, last fall). That would set the table for James Click, the former Houston Astros GM who is currently Toronto’s vice-president of baseball strategy, to step in on an interim basis while a search takes place, one which may very well select him for the role on a permanent basis.”

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