Gregg Zaun rips Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider

Gregg Zaun isn't impressed with the Toronto Blue Jays, and he isn't holding back when it comes to manager John Schneider.

The former Blue Jays catcher recently took aim at the team's clubhouse culture, questioning whether Schneider has the authority to have difficult conversations with some of Toronto's biggest stars.

Zaun specifically pointed to Schneider's long relationship with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who he managed throughout his time in the Blue Jays' minor-league system.

"You also have to have a guy at the helm that has some street cred, not just living on the fact that he's been Vladdy's caddy since the minor leagues," Zaun said on The Raw Mike Richards Show.

Zaun then referenced comments Schneider had previously made about not wanting to upset Guerrero.

"He said it himself, 'Oh, we don't want to p*ss Vladdy off. We don't want to upset him.' Really? Why?" Zaun said. "How do you not have the ability and the relationship with your star player having managed him all the way through the minor leagues to walk into a room, in a closed door meeting, and have those tough conversations?"

While Vladdy's struggles have played a massive role in the Blue Jays' struggles this season, Zaun believes it's the entire clubhouse as a whole that needs to be improved. 

"I look at the Jays as a whole, I look at the culture of the Jays. They’re more worried about home run jackets than they are getting a guy over, getting a guy in, hitting a cutoff man, calling the right pitches when it matters most," he said. "There’s been no conversation about any of those key things."

Zaun believes the culture needs to change from the top down, with players having clear expectations and knowing there will be consequences if those expectations aren't met.

"If they don't look in the dugout and know that there's a tough conversation coming after the game, and it doesn't have to be in public, it shouldn’t be in public in fact," Zaun said. "But these tough conversations have to be happening. Why are they not happening?"

The Blue Jays are all but mathematically eliminated in what has been a trying season, as they sit 3.5 games back of a wild-card position with only five games remaining. The disappointing year will give GM Ross Atkins plenty to ponder heading into the offseason, including whether or not Schneider will return in 2027.