Blue Jays extend manager Charlie Montoyo through 2023 season

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This article was published 01/04/2022 (1330 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DUNEDIN, Fla. Charlie Montoyo looked like the manager of Canada’s baseball team Friday as he set out for the Blue Jays’ Grapefruit League game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton with a red Tim Hortons cup in hand.

As Montoyo has taken to some Canadians customs since becoming Toronto’s manager in October 2018, the Jays have taken to Montoyo. The organization announced Friday it had extended his contract through the 2023 season. Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi reported the deal included two club options beyond that.

“I love being a Blue Jay,” Montoyo said. “I love the fans. I love Toronto. I’m excited about this team … Looking forward to another year.”

Inside the clubhouse, Montoyo’s coaches were happy to share in the good news for the 56-year-old Puerto Rico native, who has finished third and fourth in American League manager of the year voting the last two seasons.

“He’s really good at taking information that’s provided — from the front office to the coaching staff to high performance — and meshing it together with his own baseball experience,” bench coach John Schneider said.

While Montoyo is happy to share that information and his own insights, he isn’t a micromanager, said Schneider, who spends most of his time working with Montoyo and pitching coach Pete Walker on how to deploy the team’s roster and figuring out how opposing teams will try to beat Toronto.

“It’s like what we try to do with players, we try to let them (take) their own approach and run their own day and take accountability for what they’re doing. He does the same with us,” Schneider said. “It makes you stay on your toes … When you do that, you kind of have a much more functioning system.”

Montoyo is the only big-league manager Schneider and hitting coach Guillermo Martinez have worked under. Martinez was the youngest hitting coach in the minor leagues when he was hired in the fall of 2018, and he said Montoyo has looked out for him ever since.

“He’s kept me accountable … he’s always looked out for me just because he knew I didn’t have the experience,” Martinez said. “He’s a wise man, so I always listen.”

While baseball is about winning, Montoyo is more about development, Martinez said. And the Jays have become a major player in the AL with that approach.

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“Just making sure all of us stay together,” Martinez said. “He’s been tremendous for all of us. He’s definitely opened my eyes to how good of a person he is. I feel lucky to be part of this group.”

More than anything, Montoyo is human. The skipper’s son Alex was diagnosed with a rare heart defect at birth that has required many life-threatening surgeries. Montoyo learned long ago that he has no control over what happens in life, so it’s important to know what’s going on with his players and staff, on the field and off. He’s happy to be considered a players’ manager, if it means there is always an open line of communication between them.

A good team makes for a good manager, Montoyo said, and he has a good team. But the team also has a good manager, his staff said.

“He’s been through enough in his time, on and off the field, in this game,” Schneider said. “He has a really, really good heart and he’s just a really good guy who’s going to trust you and always have your back. He’s in a tough position because, as a manager, you’re always going to get criticized for something you do but … as a man and as a friend, he’s one of the best guys I’ve been around. “

Notes The Jays selected the contract of veteran right-handed reliever David Phelps, 35, on Friday. He will earn a base salary of $1.75 million (U.S.), which could double with incentives. Phelps missed most of the 2021 season after suffering a lat rupture … Left-handed reliever Ryan Borucki was pulled from Friday’s 6-6 tie with the Pittsburgh Pirates after he experienced some discomfort in his right hamstring after sliding on the mound. Montoyo said Borucki was feeling fine and didn’t want to leave the game. He was scheduled for some precautionary testing.