Baseball Isn’t Boring
Presser: Toronto GM Ross Atkins Explains His Plan And His Emotions
25 Oct 2025
Chapter 1: What are the roster decisions made for Game 1 of the World Series?
I'll repeat that. Wondering what went into the roster decisions as far as getting Boba Shett on first off and then putting Ty France on with Loperfito and Yariel coming off.
Yeah, I mean, the bow one, relatively straightforward, just based on talent and health, and felt like he was in a good enough position to help our team and make us better. Ty's been working tirelessly since his injury. He's gotten back to an incredible position physically, has looked really good in all of his live at bats, and is a good matchup against this team.
Chapter 2: How is George Springer performing physically before the World Series?
And that contributed to the decision to keep the extra pitcher off.
And how is George doing physically right now?
Great. You know, he's battled through a lot all year, and, you know, I think he could articulate better, but we feel like he's in a strong enough position to continue to be an incredible contributor.
Any questions for Ross? We'll go to the second row, and you're right.
I thought we were going to wrap it up after a while.
Yeah. Hey, Ross. Obviously, MLSE moved the start times of the Leafs and Raptors games this weekend and on to as well as Monday and Tuesday's games. Were there conversations with MLSE or is that just like a nice surprise for you?
Not with me. I'm sure there were with Mark Shapiro and Marnie Starkman and others. I didn't have those.
Also, since you became GM of the Blue Jays, you've often spoken about the importance of bringing in personnel who are high character, good values kind of folks.
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Chapter 3: What factors influenced the decision to use Bo Bichette at second base?
This year's Blue Jays, a lot has been made about their resilience and their togetherness. Do you see that as a payoff of that policy of putting an emphasis on high character people?
I've always been taught and learned and believed strongly that hiring and identification of whether it be players, coaches, scouts, anyone that's helping support the organization, that hiring is the most important thing we do. And if you do that with values that are important to you, then over time that's going to pay off for you.
Third row on your left, Ross. Jordan? Ross, John Schneider's talked about the last year with Max Scherzer and kind of the ups and downs of that and the payoff in the last round. What has your perspective been watching Max be a part of this team from when you first signed him to having that moment in the last round?
Yeah, I'm not sure that I could describe it better than what happened on the field. Seeing that competitive nature come out the way it did, I can't describe it better than what we saw on TV.
But it has been incredible to be around him under the hood in our clubhouse and to see how he prepares, how he helps others prepare, how he processes information as it relates to getting ready for winning a baseball game. And then just how important that is to him at this level in his career and how real that is, has a massive impact on our environment.
Fourth row on your left, Shai. Hey, Ross. Can you describe some of the conversations that you guys had, factors you considered in deciding to use Bo at second base coming back from this, challenges he faces in that transition, what got you guys to the comfort level to make that choice?
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Chapter 4: How has the Blue Jays' philosophy on player character evolved?
Yeah, I mean, it was more about what we were seeing and then talking about upside, downside. And then I think the most important interactions were those with Bo and just how he was responding and feeling, his confidence level and hitting that top gear and what that could mean once adrenaline factors in.
And ultimately, our confidence in his hands, his athleticism, his instincts, that was the easy part.
And just from a bigger picture offensively, the past couple of off seasons, we've had conversations about how you guys were going to look at different elements of the offense. You guys have also obviously put an emphasis on contact.
What are some of the factors in taking some of the contact that you guys have had and this year turning that into contact with damage that's led to a productive offense?
Yeah, it's interesting. The most damage that we added in the offseason wasn't as integral into our season, was a piece of the equation in the playoffs in Anthony Santander. You know, we always have believed in this group. We have said that a long time. And the players that are here and Alejandro Kirk and obviously Vladdy and obviously George and they've continued to get better.
They've continued to make adjustments with the league. And we've always felt that contact would turn into more damage. And this year it did.
Standing in the back left, Mitch.
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Chapter 5: What has been Ross Atkins' perspective on Max Scherzer's contributions?
Hey, Ross. You haven't been shown in games on TV that much in your time here, but they've cut to you in the front office a couple times during this run after the DS, after the CS, showing you celebrating. What has this run and kind of those moments been like for you?
It's obviously... very powerful. John Schneider and I were just talking about it. I think the thing that I think about the most is the relationships, the people that we have hired and the people that we have grown with together. I've always felt there's a big group of people here that I'm working with that will for sure be lifelong relationships and lifelong friendships.
Success, albeit not done with work to do, not just this year, but well beyond, I think just emboldens that feeling of how powerful these relationships will be.
Gabe in the fourth row, closer to the middle. Hey, Ross. What was it like from your perspective watching Trace climb up the system this year, and at what point did you kind of feel like he was a realistic shot at being a part of all this?
Pretty, you know, pretty early. I would say probably in that transition from Vancouver to New Hampshire, that Aval AA transition, as you could see, he was moving pretty quickly. And, you know, we could, the strikeout rate is just undeniable. The weapons and the unique nature of them was undeniable. And he just made the decision for us.
Standing in the back left, Tyler. Ross, a couple of your deals brought in everyday guys who were known for defense, Andres Jimenez and Dalton Varshow. And you took on a lot of money with Jimenez and you gave up a lot of talent for Varshow.
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Chapter 6: What are the challenges faced by the Blue Jays in their playoff run?
What was the driving force behind defensive-oriented players and those deals?
You know, we talk about both sides of the ball all the time. We also felt that those guys are good offensive players, really good base runners. So the complete nature of those players, what was so attractive, you know, yes, his defense is exceptionally important to us. Absolutely. But for us, it's always about the complete player.
And maybe we have hedged a little bit more into or just placing more value in defense. subconsciously, but for us it's always been about the whole player and what that means and how it impacts our ability to win. Standing on the left, Mike.
Hey, Ross. You mentioned Schneider, and he was part of the deal when you guys got here, but you obviously saw something in him to progress him up through the ranks. Is it significant to have a Blue Jays lifer like that in the seat that he's in?
Yeah, beyond the obvious reasons of the relationships and what it means to him to be a Blue Jay, that has an impact for others coming into the organization that sense and feel that. But I also think it's exceptionally powerful for all of those coming behind him.
It's really important to us that people that we are developing from within, we have to be open to hiring from other organizations and other fields as well, but that is very powerful to us and we feel it's powerful to others in the organization.
And just to follow up on Shai's question about Bo, what was the equation that made it more palatable for you guys to use Bo at second over putting Springer in the outfield?
Well, that's one game, so we'll see how the other six unfold or however many we play.
Go to Rob on the left, Ross. Hey, Ross. It's taken you some time to have the type of sustained playoff run that you had hoped for and always expected, with some near misses and some disappointments along the way. How gratifying is it for you personally and for your staff to get to this point?
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Chapter 7: How does the Blue Jays' approach to contact hitting impact their success?
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This group has won a ton together so over the last five years they've won more than anyone in the AL East other than the Yankees and it's very close you know very high up in the American League and how much this group has won over the last five years we have had some crash landings that have been very difficult for us all the fans us and the organizations to stomach yeah but I'm
Yeah, I'm exceptionally happy for our players and our staff to be sitting where we are today. Standing in the back left, Jamie.
Where you're concerned personally, Ross, as you walk the streets of this city, are you finding people a little more friendly than in past years?
It's always been great. I've never had anything but positive interactions. I mean, I've had a couple of entertaining interactions that maybe they were throwing some jabs, but I've never had anything but just respect. I think people love the Blue Jays so much, and I feel that, and sometimes I feel maybe that they're wanting a little bit more, but it's always been very respectful.
Second row on your right, Ross. Hey, Ross. Just another question about Trey. A lot has been made about his confidence and poise on the mound. I'm just curious back to when you guys were looking at him in the draft. What kind of reports were you getting from scouts about his makeup and how much did that play a factor into where you decided to take him?
Yeah, it's interesting. You never take a player where that's a concern. Guys that are being taken in the first round usually are dominating, usually are performing at such high levels that the makeup reports are always pretty good. It's going to be, yeah, this guy's a bulldog, he's a warrior, he works his tail off and never backs down from a challenge.
But then the game gets faster and the talent gets higher and the stages are bigger and that exposes some things. So if we had the magic formula to tell you that Trey Savage was going to be able to handle this when we acquired him, we probably would have had a lot more success prior to today. There's just, you know, you just don't, you never know. And it's a very, the hardest thing
to evaluate, in my opinion. So you evaluate process and work, preparation, how they deal with failure, but handling an environment like he's handled, the way he has, I don't think anyone can determine.
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Chapter 8: What is the significance of Alejandro Kirk to the Blue Jays' strategy?
Andrew has also kept a lot of staff members around. There is a commitment to his people, and that obviously starts with their ownership. And they have continued to build upon really good resources. And those are all things I would say the Blue Jays are trying to do as well. I do think that continuity is exceptionally powerful for organizations like Cleveland, like Milwaukee, like Tampa.
Even when a leader is lost, they're usually building from within so that you can build upon the good decision-making tools that you have. You can build upon the values that you have. And it's the big changes where it gets hard to repeat success.
We'll finish up with Ron. The contact hitting that you have, the lack of strikeouts, how conscious of a decision was it to go after players who make contact and how much was a philosophy put in place of in the day-to-day training of them?
Yeah, varied. It was something we felt played in the playoffs against really good pitching.
What was the impetus and when did you as an organization make a decision to concentrate on that?
Discussion turns into research and research turns into decisions. How many years ago? Four, probably five.
I know Ross has to be somewhere, but we'll finish up right here. You extended Alejandro Kirk to a five-year deal this season. How important has he become to this organization?
I mean, I can't say enough about Alejandro and to say how important, you know, it's incredible. Very, very important. The way that he
is handling our pitching staff, that position, controlling the running game, game calling, the not just receiving but keeping the ball in front of him, the decision making, and then to be hitting fourth or fifth in our lineup and very effectively, I mean, yeah, that is a massive, massive impact on our ability to win.
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