TORONTO (AP) — The Toronto Blue Jays are moving Don Mattingly back to the position of full-time bench coach after the six-time All-Star also spent the 2024 season as the team’s offensive coordinator.
“He’s excited about that opportunity to impact us and (manager John Schneider) in a different way and a bigger way,” general manager Ross Atkins said Wednesday at his end-of-season news conference. “We think the world of Donnie. He’s been incredible and open-minded to change, as well.”
Atkins said associate manager DeMarlo Hale will remain in his role supporting Schneider in 2025.
However, Atkins said hitting coach Guillermo Martinez, field coordinator Gil Kim and assistant pitching coach Jeff Ware won’t return after the Blue Jays went 74-88 and finished last in the AL East.
The Blue Jays scored 671 runs this season, the 23rd highest total. Arizona led baseball with 886 runs.
Toronto hit 156 home runs, the fifth-lowest total in the majors. The Yankees led baseball with 237 homers.
Atkins said Ware is under contract and will be offered another role in the organization. Kim is not under contract but also will be offered another role. Both are also free to pursue other opportunities, Atkins said.
Martinez is not under contract and will not be back with the Blue Jays.
A former New York Yankees slugger, Mattingly joined Toronto as bench coach in November 2022 after seven seasons with Miami. He won NL Manager of the Year honors with the Marlins in 2020.
Before Miami, Mattingly won three division titles in five seasons as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He also worked as hitting coach and bench coach for the Yankees, and as hitting coach of the Dodgers before his managerial stint in Los Angeles.
Mattingly spent his entire 14-year playing career with the Yankees, winning nine Gold Gloves at first base, three Silver Slugger awards, the 1984 AL batting title and the 1985 AL MVP award.
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FILE - Toronto Blue Jays bench coach and offensive coordinator Don Mattingly (23) smiles in the dugout before a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, May 13, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)
MILWAUKEE (AP) — An NBA investigation into the dispute between the Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo regarding the two-time MVP’s injury status is ongoing.
The NBA issued a statement offering an update on the investigation Saturday, a day after Antetokounmpo told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and The Athletic that he’s healthy and he wants to play.
Antetokounmpo hasn’t played since leaving a March 15 victory over the Indiana Pacers after landing awkwardly on a dunk. The Bucks released an injury report Saturday ruling him out for Sunday’s matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies, which will mark the 11th straight game he has missed.
“The NBA’s Player Participation Policy investigation into the Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo is ongoing and certain facts remain in dispute,” an NBA spokesman said. “The investigation has found that the Bucks scheduled Giannis to work out last week in three-on-three scrimmages as part of his return-to-play process, but he declined to participate. There is a disagreement as to whether the team requested that Giannis participate in a group workout earlier this week, and the league is continuing to monitor the situation.”
ESPN first reported that an investigation was taking place.
Since that Indiana game, the Bucks have ruled Antetokounmpo out due to left knee hyperextension and a bone bruise. Antetokounmpo has been participating in pregame warmups lately with no apparent limits.
“I’m healthy,” Antetokounmpo told reporters before the Bucks’ 133-101 loss to the Boston Celtics on Friday. “I hate it when people force me to do things against my nature. I’m a player. I get paid to play.”
The Bucks were eliminated from postseason contention on March 28, snapping their string of nine straight playoff appearances.
Sunday will mark the career-high 42nd game Antetokounmpo has missed this season. He had two extended absences earlier this season due to right calf strains. He also sat out four games early this season with a left adductor strain.
The 31-year-old Antetokounmpo says he’s feeling better now and wants to get back on the floor. He has played his entire 13-year career with Milwaukee, which selected him with the 15th overall pick in the 2013 draft.
Given his long history with the team, Antetokounmpo said the Bucks should have known he wouldn’t want to be shut down for the season just because their playoff hopes have vanished.
“You know who you’re dealing with,” Antetokounmpo said Friday. “So, for somebody to come and tell me to not play or to not compete, it’s like a slap in my face.”
This dispute comes amid much speculation regarding Antetokounmpo’s future with the Bucks.
Antetokounmpo becomes eligible to sign a four-year contract extension worth up to $275 million in October. If he doesn’t sign the extension, Antetokounmpo could become a free agent after the 2026-27 season, or the Bucks could decide to trade him beforehand.
Bucks coach Doc Rivers said after Monday’s game that he wishes this disagreement had been kept between the two parties. Rivers added that “this is a grown man’s game, and it should be handled that way by everybody.”
“I just don’t like that this is so public,” Rivers said. “This is where grown men get in a room and they talk it out. Whether they agree or disagree, that doesn’t matter. But this should not be public, and I don’t like that.”
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Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo looks on during player introductions before an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks, Tuesday, March 31, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)
Injured Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo, center right, talks with an official, center left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, right, talks to the Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd before an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 31, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, right, talks to the Dallas Mavericks' Khris Middleton before an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 31, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, right, talks to the Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd before an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 31, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)
