Blue Jays notebook: John Schneider a manager of the year contender in deep AL field

TORONTO — Among the many things Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider likes to keep tabs on over the course of a game is his counterpart in the dugout across the diamond.

“I always watch the other manager, I’m always curious to see how they would make decisions based on how we internally think of them,” he explained. “I watch other guys’ post-game (media availabilities) to see what kind of message they’re giving to the media, to the players. And I try to learn from it a little bit. I try to see what they’re giving off, too. Some guys are high energy. Some guys are very stoic. Bruce Bochy is way different than Alex Cora. You have to be who you are. But I try to see how they’re thinking in terms of when is a time to pull a lever, if needed, and then I try to look at their in-game and post-game reaction.”

Schneider isn’t alone in that regard. 

Houston Astros manager Joe Espada, one of the finalists in October 2018 when the Blue Jays hired Charlie Montoyo to replace John Gibbons, does the same thing, saying “there are a lot of guys that I follow, that I take time during the day to go and text, ‘Come outside and let’s talk for a little bit.’

“I’m always interested in how people’s processes are and how they do it with the talent (they have), and sometimes with not a very expanded roster, and how they find ways to win games,” Espada continued. “I like to come out early and see the early work. I also like to hear some of these managers’ press conferences and how they handle themselves through adversity — it’s the way I learn how to do things.”

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Those approaches have helped the manager guide their teams to the top of their respective divisions — the Blue Jays own a three-game lead on the New York Yankees in the East, the Astros are tied with the Seattle Mariners in the West — and should have them in the mix for the American League Manager of the Year award.

A.J. Hinch of the Detroit Tigers is another leading candidate, while there are also good cases to be made for Dan Wilson of the Seattle Mariners, the Boston Red Sox’s Cora, the Texas Rangers’ Bochy, Matt Quatraro of the Kansas City Royals and last year’s winner, Stephen Vogt of the Cleveland Guardians.

Three rival scouts polled this week said Schneider would be among their finalists if they had a vote, one listing him as the top pick, another describing it as a toss-up between Schneider and Hinch and a third saying Schneider and Cora were the top contenders. Voting is conducted by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (full transparency, this writer is not voting for the award).

Bobby Cox is the only Blue Jays manager to bag the prize, claiming it in 1985, when he led the club to its first American League East title. Cito Gaston finished an unjust second in 1989 — when he took over after a 12-24 start and led the team to its second division crown, overtaking the Baltimore Orioles managed by award winner Frank Robinson — third in 1991 and ’93, and fourth in ’92. John Gibbons was fourth in 2015, when the Blue Jays ended a 21-year post-season drought, while Charlie Montoyo finished third in 2020, when the club played at Buffalo’s Sahlen Field due to the Canadian government’s pandemic restrictions. 

Schneider’s Blue Jays headed into Friday’s play a half-game ahead of Hinch’s Tigers for best record in the American League, and 5½ games up on the Astros and Mariners in the chase for one of loop’s two first-round byes. 

Bolstering his case for the award is the way the Blue Jays regrouped after a dreadful 2024 season in a division poised to send three teams to the playoffs, overcoming key injuries to prized free-agent addition Anthony Santander, Max Scherzer, Andres Gimenez, Yimi Garcia and Bowden Francis, among others, while utilizing the entirety of the roster to build a winning club. 

The scout who picked Schneider for manager of the year said he was impressed by the 45-year-old’s steadiness throughout the season, describing April as a down month that required leadership from the manager’s seat, while establishing “a very good culture” from May onward.

Hinch’s case also rests on the way the Tigers maximize the entirety of their roster. Espada has guided the Astros through a series of injuries that would have long ago decimated other clubs. Wilson’s Mariners are challenging for the division after overcoming offensive inconsistencies all season. Cora guided the Red Sox through some early-season drama with the since-traded Rafael Devers while integrating some of the organization’s array of young talent. Bochy, Quatraro and Vogt have all kept their teams on the fringes of the wild-card race despite varying challenges and roster flaws. 

It’s a deep field and beauty is, of course, in the eye of the beholder when it comes to the manager’s award. But Schneider’s work this season makes him a candidate as strong, if not stronger, than any other in the American League.

Lauer adjusts

The Blue Jays would not be where they are without the early-season emergence of lefty Eric Lauer, but the 30-year-old has pitched only twice since going five innings in a 14-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Aug. 16.

How is he remaining sharp amid the minimal usage?

“Honestly, I’m trying to figure that out,” said Lauer. “It’s kind of been a weird scenario because I’m like the emergency long relief guy, so when we have starters going deep into games, like they should, there’s not really a ton of need for me in that role. So I’m trying to balance this whole week between outings thing. Do you throw a bullpen, because I haven’t, but I need to throw off a mound, and I need to face hitters to stay sharp.”

Lauer’s last two outings were 4.2 innings while starting a 9-8 win over the Minnesota Twins on Aug. 27, and 2.1 innings of relief behind Jose Berrios on Sept. 2 at Cincinnati. During that Twins outing, Lauer found that he “kind of lost the zone control” he’d previously established due to the long layoff. 

“It wasn’t like I can’t throw strikes,” he added, “but I realized after that I need to get game-style reps, if they’re not true game reps, that way I can continue to make sure I can control the zone, rather than just throw to the zone, which gets harder the longer you’re not in a game. That’s where I’m at right now, trying to figure out how to stay as sharp as possible and hopefully keep as much length as I can.”

The Blue Jays are in a stretch of 13 games in 13 days, but manager John Schneider has said the club has no plans to work in another starter to give the rest of the rotation an extra day, leaving Lauer trying to stay sharp for whatever opportunity may come up.

Barger back at third

In the wake of Bo Bichette’s left knee sprain, Addison Barger is reacclimating to playing third base consistently for the first time in more than a month, with four straight starts at the hot corner after largely playing right field for more than a month.

“Taking groundballs before the game instead of taking fly balls definitely helps,” he said of making the transition, one he’s made look easier than it actually is. “If I’m playing right field, I’m taking fly balls in my pre-game work and I’m not taking any groundballs. The tough part is when I’m playing the outfield consistently, like two, three straight, maybe a couple of innings at third base, and then going to play third base for a week. That’s when it gets kind of tough. You can kind of lose your rhythm a little bit. But that’s part of playing multiple positions. You’ve got to prepare the best you can to have the ability to do both.”

The majority of Barger’s work has come at third base this season, with 76 games there compared to 56 in right. He was drafted as a shortstop and played 157 minor-league games there coming up, picking up third base (114 games) and the outfield (50 games) as he reached the upper levels of the system.

Both manager John Schneider and starter Kevin Gausman praised his defensive work at third after Thursday’s 6-0 win over Houston.

“Third base (is) way tougher than short for me, shortstop is my natural position, at this point, though, I don’t know what my primary spot is,” Barger said with a grin. “Being a natural shortstop definitely helps adjustability and being able to move to different spots. But I think third base is harder, not getting the chance to pick your own hops, because you’re just closer and the angle is just different. It’s more of a reactionary position.”

Heineman helps

A couple of big-league firsts for Tyler Heineman — a walk-off RBI on Tuesday and catching Kevin Gausman’s complete-game shutout Thursday — made the Astros series a big one for the backup catcher who’d gone cold at the plate of late.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “I haven’t been doing my job really that well hitting-wise in the last three, four weeks (1-for-20 with two RBIs in his last eight games), so that stuff’s weighing on me. And then when I get the job done and I’m able to help the team in another way, putting a ball in play and then with catching a shutout, it’s awesome. Baseball-wise, it feels weird sometimes when you’re not producing at the plate and you’re playing once every four, five games. A 3 1/2-week stretch feels like an eternity. So you feel that and it’s nice when you can find other ways to contribute.”

Even amid his recent dry spell, Heineman is batting a career-best .296/.370/.437 with his three homers, 19 RBIs and 23 runs all new personal highs, too. Gausman’s complete game was only the 27th this season in the majors, and the shutout only the 11th, a rare accomplishment for both pitcher and catcher.

“It’s efficiency, right? Efficiency and being able to get ahead of guys,” Heineman said of the keys to the outing. “I think they, honestly, could tell that he had good stuff because, the fourth through the seventh, they were taking a lot of first pitches and he was pouring it in, getting ahead, throwing down and away, sometimes up and in, getting ahead with his slider once in a while and getting ahead with the split. I think they were trying to get his pitch count up to get him out of the game. And he refused to allow that to happen.”