The ascendant Toronto Blue Jays have signed manager Charlie Montoyo to a contract extension through 2023, the team announced Friday. The contract also includes club options for 2024 and 2025, according to Shi David of Sportsnet.
Montoyo, 56, was entering the final season of the original contract he signed when the Blue Jays hired him four years ago. He signed a three-year contract in Oct. 2018, and the club gave him a vote of confidence last spring when they exercised his 2022 club option earlier than necessary. Now Montoyo has security rather than be a lame duck manager.
In three seasons with Montoyo, the Blue Jays have gone 190-194 (.495), including 91-71 last year, when they missed the postseason by one game. Montoyo and the Blue Jays have played under difficult circumstances the last two seasons, as pandemic-related travel restrictions put in place by the Canadian government forced the club to play home games in three different cities.
The Blue Jays played all home games at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, home of their Triple-A affiliate, during the shortened 2020 season. Last year, they played their first 21 home games at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Florida, their spring training home, and their next 23 home games in Buffalo before finally returning to Toronto in July. There was a big celebration.
Toronto enters 2022 with a roster loaded with young talent (Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., most notably) and a strong rotation with serious upside. Furthermore, travel restrictions will prohibit unvaccinated players from entering Canada, so the Blue Jays will face potentially depleted opponents at home.
Prior to joining the Blue Jays, Montoyo spent two decades with the Rays in various capacities, and served as the club's bench coach under Kevin Cash from 2016-18.
