logo
Blue Jays pitching notes: Alek Manoah, replacing Yimi García, Jeff Hoffman's command

Blue Jays pitching notes: Alek Manoah, replacing Yimi García, Jeff Hoffman's command

New York Times25-05-2025

TAMPA, Fla. — It was all about the arms before the Toronto Blue Jays took the field in Tampa Bay.
José Berríos allowed three earned runs in Toronto's 3-1 loss to the Rays on Saturday, but the chatter centered on pitchers who didn't appear on the mound and won't for a while.
From navigating life without Yimi García to picturing a future with Alek Manoah, here are three notes on the state of Toronto's pitching.
Advertisement
Manoah wrapped his arms around Blue Jays manager John Schneider a few minutes before Friday's first pitch at George M. Steinbrenner Field. With Manoah working at Toronto's player development complex in Florida as he recovers from June 2024 Tommy John surgery, the righty's presence in the Blue Jays dugout was unfamiliar but welcome.
'Just energy and a big body,' Schneider said. 'You know, just a guy to kind of be aware of where he's at, so you don't get knocked over.'
The starting pitcher then slid to the dugout's top step, a spot the Jays hope he'll regularly stand later this season. Manoah is past his elbow's healing process and starting to check boxes for a return. He's throwing two bullpens a week and has recently pushed past 40 pitches. Right now, the righty's working on feel for his pitches, command around the zone, simulating plate appearances and pitch sequencing.
The Jays hope Manoah can be an MLB option in early August, though Tommy John timelines often change. The question is what that reinforcement version of Manoah looks like. The 27-year-old appeared stable in five 2024 starts before injury, rocking a 3.70 ERA, but his disastrous 2023 still lingers. Manoah battled his mechanics during that tumultuous season but feels more in tune with his delivery amid his lengthy recovery from elbow surgery.
'That's the biggest thing,' Manoah said. 'Being able to learn that feel and being able to just build that indestructible base of just learning my stuff, learning the way my body moves.'
When he's back, Manoah's key will be command — it's what he lost in 2023, walking more than six batters per nine innings, and it's often the last facet to return after Tommy John recovery. In Manoah's 2022 All-Star season, he threw 66 percent strikes. During the 2023 campaign that saw him optioned to the minors, that rate dropped 5 percentage points to 61 percent.
Advertisement
If Manoah keeps down the walks and wild pitches, he can help Toronto down the stretch — as long as the rotation holds until then. For a Blue Jays team that's already used five pitchers to fill an ever-changing fifth rotation spot, any pitching depth, even if it's two months away, is valued.
'Being able to just help in any way is kind of what I'm focused on,' Manoah said. 'You know, I want to get back out there. I want to be healthy. I want to be great.'
The Blue Jays have walked a clear bullpen path for close games this season — García, Brendon Little and Jeff Hoffman. Others have stepped in at times, but only those three have faced more than 15 batters in high-leverage situations.
The Jays have to find new options in the late innings with García heading to the injured list with right shoulder impingement on Saturday. It's an issue García navigated for the 'last handful of weeks,' Schneider said, and he'll return to see team doctors in Toronto to establish a recovery timeline. Yariel Rodríguez is an obvious choice to step up, riding eight straight scoreless appearances, and Chad Green has late-game experience. But this could be a shot for Mason Fluharty.
The rookie left-hander has just 2 1/3 innings of high-leverage work this season, but he's allowed a batting average under .175 to both left- and right-handed hitters. Early in his minor-league career, Fluharty struggled against righty bats, but his cutter has become a weapon against the other side of the platoon. He's using it nearly 70 percent of the time against right-handers this year, inducing a .091 batting average and .244 expected weighted on-base average against opposite-handed hitters. With his stuff playing against both sides, Fluharty has earned bigger moments.
Advertisement
On the surface, Hoffman's 6.04 ERA and three blown saves in his last seven appearances are concerning. But Schneider says he's unworried, Hoffman claims he's fine and the numbers suggest they're right.
'Just in talking with him, he's in a good spot,' Schneider said. 'I think that, you know, the life of a reliever and a high-leverage reliever is bumpy.'
Hoffman is striking out a career-high 13.7 batters per nine and allowing walks at a nearly identical rate to 2024. The issue is an inflated homer total, allowing five long balls in his first 22.1 innings. Everything suggests that will change.
Nearly 30 percent of Hoffman's fly balls have left the ballpark. In the past three years, his rate of home runs per fly ball was 6.8 percent, and the league average rests at 8.5 percent. There's a lot of room for normalization there.
Hoffman has missed his spots at times this year, leading to damage, but his control has improved in 2025. In his All-Star season last year, 39 percent of Hoffman's pitches landed within one ball width of the strike zone's edge. This year, he's sitting at 43 percent in the shadow of the zone. His percentage of pitches down the middle remains the same as in 2024.
The ERA is high, and the blown saves hurt, but Schneider and Hoffman seem correct to preach calm in the closer role.
(Top photo of José Berríos: Mark Taylor / Getty Images)

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier earns 2nd Player of the Week award this season
Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier earns 2nd Player of the Week award this season

CBS News

time23 minutes ago

  • CBS News

Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier earns 2nd Player of the Week award this season

Minnesota Lynx superstar Napheesa Collier has earned her second Western Conference Player of the Week award this season, adding another accolade to her MVP-level year. Collier's latest honor covers two Lynx games, during which she averaged 23 points, 10.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2 steals and 1.5 blocks. She logged a double-double in each game. The 28-year-old forward was named the West's Player of the Week for the first four games of the season and Player of the Month for May. Collier leads the WNBA this season in points per game (25.5), steals per game (2.2), player efficiency rating (32.1) and win shares (2.4). Her play has the Lynx off to a 9-0 start, matching how the Lynx began their last championship season in 2017. Last season, Collier finished second in MVP voting behind the Las Vegas Aces' A'ja Wilson. She's having another stellar season for the Aces, but if Collier continues at her current level of play, it'll be hard for voters to deny her the first MVP award of her career. Collier also made the All-WNBA First Team last year and was named Defensive Player of the Year amid the Lynx's surprising but ultimately unavailing run to the WNBA Finals. She also won a gold medal with Team USA at the Summer Olympics. Since then, she's had a productive offseason. She was named the MVP of Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 basketball league she co-founded, and TIME magazine listed her among its 100 Most Influential People.

Lee Corso's final ‘College GameDay' to come at Ohio State in Week 1
Lee Corso's final ‘College GameDay' to come at Ohio State in Week 1

New York Times

time27 minutes ago

  • New York Times

Lee Corso's final ‘College GameDay' to come at Ohio State in Week 1

Lee Corso's final mascot headgear pick for 'College GameDay' will come at Ohio State, where it all began. ESPN's flagship college football show will go to Columbus, Ohio, in Week 1, where the Buckeyes will face Texas in what is expected to be a top-five matchup. ESPN said in April that the 89-year-old Corso would retire after Week 1 of the upcoming season, giving him a celebratory sendoff, but it did not name the location. There was some speculation the show could go to the Florida State-Alabama game, as Corso played at FSU in the 1950s alongside actor Burt Reynolds (and because Ohio State-Texas will be broadcast on Fox). 📍 Week 1: Columbus, OH We're kicking off College GameDay with a trip to Texas-Ohio State, as we celebrate Lee Corso's final show back where he first made headgear history! 🤩 — College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) June 10, 2025 But the show will send Corso off where the headgear picks began. While Corso has been on the show since its inception in 1987, his first mascot pick came at Ohio State in 1996 for the Buckeyes' game against Penn State. Corso has made 430 headgear picks, from Buckeyes to animals to helmets to full-on costumes. He's correctly picked 66.5 percent of those choices, according to ESPN, including a perfect 11-0 in 1999. Brutus Buckeye has been the most popular pick, chosen 45 times, with Alabama just behind at 38. 'When it was our game, I was always hoping he didn't pick us,' Nick Saban said in April, 'because I knew the players were watching and I wanted reverse rat poison.' Coach Lee Corso by the numbers 🤯 🐻 430 mascot headgear picks🏈 66.5% win rate of picks all-time🏆 Perfect season = 1999 More on LC's 38 years on @CollegeGameDay: — ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) April 17, 2025 'My family and I will be forever indebted for the opportunity to be part of ESPN and 'College GameDay' for nearly 40 years,' Corso said in a news release in April. 'I have a treasure of many friends, fond memories and some unusual experiences to take with me into retirement.'

Sacramento Railyards soccer stadium plan faces key city council vote
Sacramento Railyards soccer stadium plan faces key city council vote

CBS News

time27 minutes ago

  • CBS News

Sacramento Railyards soccer stadium plan faces key city council vote

A key Sacramento city council vote deciding the future of Republic FC's new soccer stadium is set for Tuesday. Plans for Republic FC's new home, an expandable 12,000-seat facility, can't come to life without figuring out how to cover infrastructure in the area – things like roadways, pedestrian bike lanes, and traffic lights that the city estimates will to cost north of $90 million. Tuesday's vote will be to approve a special tax district that the city is looking to use to cover the cost. "I think this one is a good investment. We're not investing, subsidizing the stadium," said Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty. The Railyards development will cost an estimated $321 million at least, according to city numbers, with most of it privately funded, like Republic FC's stadium and the area around it. Developers of the project – including Indomitable Ventures, formed by Republic FC – would pay for the infrastructure costs up front, then be reimbursed through funds generated by the special tax district. "We're subsidizing the infrastructure by giving a return on property taxes that but for this project wouldn't be generated anyways," McCarty said. If approved by the council, the deal would commit the city to paying more than $90 million to the project developers in the form of future tax revenue from the soccer stadium and central shops. McCarty says construction would start this year if the plan passes. The stadium is planned to be opened by 2027.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store