Blue Jays Hire John Gibbons

7:37am: The Blue Jays confirmed that they have hired Gibbons to manage the team.

12:06am: The Blue Jays will announce John Gibbons as their new manager at some point on Tuesday morning, according to Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun.

Gibbons served as the Blue Jays manager from 2004-08, leading the team to an even 305 wins and 305 losses, including a second-place finish in the AL East back in 2006. He was replaced by Cito Gaston in 2008, and has since been a bench coach for the Royals and managed for the Padres' Double-A affiliate.

Gibbons came under heavy scrutiny during his first tenure as the Blue Jays manager, following confrontations with Dave Bush, Shea Hillenbrand and Ted Lilly. However, as Elliott notes, he has a long history with Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos.

Other candidates for the Blue Jays' managerial opening had included Don Wakamatsu, Manny Acta and Jim Tracy. According to Elliott, the team also approached future Hall of Famer Bobby Cox, but Cox elected to remain retired.