The Future of The Blue Jays' Ross Atkins
It's tough being the General Manager of a Major League Baseball club. Nobody knows this better than current Toronto Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins.
While Atkins and Toronto President Mark Shapiro have had some success since taking the reins of the team before the start of the 2016 season, Atkins bland personality and inability to push the Jays «over the hill» have not made him many fans. But just how fair is all of it?
In 2016, Atkins first year with the club, the Blue Jays made the playoffs, with a team that was largely remnants of previous GM Alex Anthopoulos.
Atkins first won on his own accord in 2020, before missing the playoffs by one game the following year.
While the Jays have made four playoff appearances under Atkins tenure, the last three have ended after the first round. To some that would be considered a failure, and to some extent it is, but four playoff appearances in nine seasons is nothing to sneeze at.
And while Atkins has gambled and lost on both Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto, he has had some good signings in Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, George Springer. Yes, he has missed on mega-star talent, but impact players aren't always superstars.
Ross Atkins contract expires at the end of 2025.
If the Blue Jays are able to have a re-bound year it could bode well for Atkins. If 2025 is like 2024, then he could be in trouble.
Some may argue that Atkins is too singularly-minded, and point to his pursuits of Ohtani and Soto as evidence of that.
But the truth is, there is so much more that fans and the general public don't hear about, and as any transaction is a two-way street, it is unfair to pin the misses solely on Atkins.
Whether or not Atkins survives 2025 remains to be seen, but the Blue Jays do have a possible GM-in-waiting in Tony LaCava.
This upcoming season will signal a lot about the Jays' future.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 9 | 311 ANSWERS The Future of The Blue Jays' Ross Atkins Will Ross Atkins be back as GM after 2025? | ||
| Yes | 27 | 8.7 % |
| No | 284 | 91.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
