Toronto Blue Jays: 5 most important individuals in 2019

2) Charlie Montoyo

Charlie Montoyo comes to Toronto with little pressure on his shoulders, at least to begin with. After the struggles of the last two seasons, combined with the franchise now being in full rebuild mode, not much will be expected from him.

Montoyo singed a three-year deal (with a club option for a fourth year) and the likelihood is he will at least see this through. However, none of this makes his impact any less important in 2019.

The team will still be hoping to remain competitive, which is where the 53-year-old comes in. As much as various media analysts claim the manager’s influence is minimal during games, it’s still more meaningful than they will have you believe.

Besides, if the Blue Jays are going to struggle this year, then every decision Montoyo makes becomes that much more critical, as they attempt to add as many games as possible to the win column. This in turn will influence the morale of the players; it doesn’t matter how much everyone says the franchise is rebuilding, every loss can still have a demoralizing effect on team camaraderie and their willingness to continue battling during the dog days of summer.

The former Montreal Expo becomes even more crucial, when considering all the young players who will appear in the Majors this year. He has to help develop them and build their confidence, especially as some of them will form the core of the team when they’re finally ready to contend again.

In truth, Montoyo will also be developing and building confidence himself, as he learns the ropes in his first managerial job in the Majors. As much as there will be little pressure from those around him to begin with, he knows how important it is for him to quickly grow into the role and benefit the rest of the organisation both this season and beyond.