There was a lot of noteworthy news on Tuesday.
Dylan Cease had his first press conference, John Schneider did a few interviews, and two big name free agents are now off the board. One news piece that may have gone under the radar is that the Toronto Blue Jays will have three new coaches in 2026.
Two were external hires, Drew Butera and Cody Atkinson, while the other was internal. Eric Duncan was promoted from within, having served as the Blue Jays Director of Position Player Development since 2024. Their roles for the 2026 season have yet to be announced.
The #BlueJays are adding Drew Butera and Eric Duncan to the MLB coaching staff, sources confirm. Duncan was the team’s director of position player development in 2024.
They are among the 3 additions to John Schneider’s staff.@ShiDavidi was first on Butera.
— Mitch Bannon (@MitchBannon) December 9, 2025
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Before joining the Blue Jays’ organization, Duncan was drafted in the first round of the 2003 draft, but unfortunately never made the big leagues. He retired as a player in 2012, coached in college for a bit, then joined the Yankees’ minor league system as their hitting coach. After that, Duncan served as the Miami Marlins hitting coach from 2020-22, joining the organization in the 2018/19 off-season.
Butera had a lengthy big league career spanning from 2010 until 2021, winning the World Series in 2015 with the Kansas City Royals. The season following his retirement, he joined the Los Angeles Angels (his last big league team) as their bullpen coach. After two seasons, he joined the Chicago White Sox as the catching coach and was recently relieved of his duties.
Atkinson has far less available information. He joined the Texas Rangers organization during the 2019/20 off-season, serving as the team’s minor league hitting director.
These aren’t the only moves to the coaching staff, as Don Mattingly parted ways with the team shortly after their Game 7 defeat. The should-be Hall of Famer was recently reported to be joining the Philadelphia Phillies, where his son Preston serves as the general manager.
Mark Shapiro’s contract expires early into 2026, while John Schneider and Ross Atkins’ contracts are reportedly set to end after the 2026 season.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.