COACH 'EM UP: Blue Jays retooling will change messaging after frustrating end to 2023

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There will be no stick of dynamite to blow up the Blue Jays coaching staff for 2024, but changes are on the way for a team that ended the short-lived postseason in frustration.

The team announced on Tuesday that Carlos Febles has been hired to replace the retiring Luis Rivera as third base coach, filling the one vacancy on manager John Schneider’s staff.

As well, general manager Ross Atkins has taken a step to right the team’s struggles at the plate by altering the role of Don Mattingly. The Jays’ bench coach for 2023, Mattingly will take on an expanded role of offensive coordinator.

While the team will retain hitting coach Guillermo Martinez, it’s expected that Mattingly will be more involved in the day-to-day tasks of working with hitters.

The moves certainly provide a window into Atkins’ mindset heading into the off-season, indicating he isn’t about to panic after an 89-win season that ended in disappointment with a two-game exit from the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

But it also sends a clear message that the team recognizes a need for some changes in the dugout in general and specifically in its approach at the plate.

Despite the outrage following the weak exit from the postseason, a two-game sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Twins, for the most part, that approach makes some sense. It does, however, heighten the urgency for immediate results in a 2024 season in which expectations will be elevated significantly in light of the recent disappointments.

The team has a strong core — particularly in the pitching staff — and has the potential for internal improvement on offence, a belief Atkins clearly intends to follow. Minor tweaks on the coaching staff do not scream panic, after all.

This brings us back to Mattingly, who has been rumoured to be a managerial candidate for multiple teams, most recently the Milwaukee Brewers. The former Yankees great had expressed interest in working with the offence in 2023 and certainly did some work in the batting cage, but his new role will make Mattingly a key voice in that area.

Febles, meanwhile, shifts venues in the American League East after spending 17 years in the Boston Red Sox organization, most recently as third base coach, a position he’s held for the past five seasons.

In his playing career, Febles was a second baseman for the Kansas City Royals from 1998 to 2003. He has also managed more than 900 games in the Red Sox system.

As well, Atkins told reporters at the general managers meetings in Arizona that two other coaches will not be returning. Major league coach Adam Yudelman and mental skills coach Jimmy Van Ostrand won’t be brought back.

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