Montoyo, Blue Jays announce coaching staff

TORONTO -- Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo unveiled his coaching staff on Tuesday night and it includes a mix of familiar faces and newcomers to the organization.
The returnees include pitching coach Pete Walker and third-base coach Luis Rivera. Hitting coach Guillermo Martinez and Major League coach John Schneider received internal promotions, while first-base coach Mark Budzinski joined Toronto after a stint in Cleveland.
The other hires were Matt Buschmann as bullpen coach and Shelley Duncan as Major League field coordinator. Bench coach Dave Hudgens was previously announced earlier this month as part of Montoyo's first coaching staff at the big league level.

Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins scheduled a news conference for Wednesday morning to discuss the hires. Toronto parted ways with first-base coach Tim Leiper, bullpen coach Dane Johnson and hitting coach Brook Jacoby shortly after John Gibbons was dismissed as manager at the end of the regular season.
Walker will be returning for his seventh season as pitching coach and his 11th as a member of the Major League staff. Rivera will begin his seventh year on staff and ninth as a member of the Blue Jays organization. Martinez spent last season as Toronto's hitting coordinator after four years in the Cubs organization.
Schneider was rewarded for his 11 years of service, which most notably included managing Double-A New Hampshire to an Eastern League title earlier this year. He is a trusted voice to a lot of the emerging prospects who went through New Hampshire in the process of breaking into the Major Leagues.
Whether it was intentional or not, Toronto has touched a lot of different organizations with these recent hirings. Montoyo joined from Tampa Bay, Hudgens from the Astros, Budzinski from the Indians, Buschmann from the Giants and Duncan from the D-backs. That should lead to a well-rounded staff for Montoyo's first year on the job.