Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Alex Colome, right, is congratulated after a save by third base coach Charlie Montoyo following a game against the Baltimore Orioles on July 17, 2016.Rerinhold Matay/The Associated Press
The Toronto Blue Jays have confirmed that Charlie Montoyo has been named the club’s new manager.
Montoyo will become the 13th manager in Blue Jays history. He managed the triple-A Durham Bulls from 2007-14 before joining the Tampa Bay Rays as third base coach in 2015. He was promoted to Tampa’s bench coach this season.
The Blue Jays are coming off a 73-89 regular season under John Gibbons. The team announced at the end of the campaign that Gibbons would not be returning to the position in 2019.
The 53-year-old Montoyo retired as a player after the 1996 season. He spent 10 years as an infielder in the Milwaukee Brewers, Montreal Expos and Philadelphia Phillies organizations.
His lone big-league experience as a player came in 1993 with the Expos, when he appeared in four games.
The native of Florida, Puerto Rico has managed teams at every classification in the Rays’ system. He was named International League manager of the year in 2010 and 2013.
Gibbons, 56, first managed the Blue Jays from August 2004 to June 2008. He was rehired in November 2012 and guided the team back to the playoffs in 2015, ending the franchise’s 22-year post-season drought.