Montoyo has earned right to continue steering Jays as true contender

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 TORONTO — Being a big league manager is a thankless job.

The decisions that go wrong are picked apart and the ones that are proven to be right are mostly ignored as the praise (rightfully so) is heaped upon the players that executed.

Each and every manager across baseball has been fired on social media at one point or another.

Toronto Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo has taken his fair share of criticism over the last couple of seasons for his bullpen management and in-game strategy, but the front office currently holds a different opinion and that was evident on Friday when the 56-year-old native of Puerto Rico was given a contract extension through the 2023 campaign.

Montoyo’s original deal when he was hired in the fall of 2018 — a three-year contract with a club option for 2022 — was set to expire at the end of this season.

Montoyo’s new pact also includes club options for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

While the contract gives the fourth-year manager some security and tells his players the club is currently committed to him leading for the next two seasons, the team options do show that Montoyo is on notice.

Simply put, expectations are high, it’s time to win and it’s a year-to-year evaluation.

In some cases over the years, a different voice has been needed to get a World Series contender over the hump, but it remains to be seen if this Blue Jays club will have to go that route and it’s far too early to predict whether that will be the case.

It’s a fair question to ask moving forward, but also one that Kevin Cash and Dave Roberts — subjectively considered two of the best managers in baseball — have faced recently, as well, when moves blew up on large stages.

Any major stumbles and the managerial job,