Blue Jays' Alek Manoah stumbles in first Triple A rehab outing, future uncertain

New York Times

13-08-2025

TORONTO — For much of the Blue Jays' season, Alek Manoah appeared like a potential late-season secret weapon. His path back to the big leagues, at least for 2025, is now less clear.
In Manoah's first Triple A rehab outing, he lasted 1 2/3 innings, walking three batters and reaching 49 pitches on Wednesday. The righty initially aimed for 70 to 75 pitches and potentially five innings of work in the outing. Initially during Manoah's rehab, the Jays were focused on health and slowly building arm strength. Now, it's starting to become about results.
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'You want to see kind of the desired result,' manager John Schneider said. 'And with him, he's always been a little scattered. It's tough to really tell until we talk to him, with what he was feeling. But you always want to see more strikes.'
Manoah flashed encouraging stuff in early rehab games, reaching 94.3 mph with his fastball and averaging 93.3 in a July outing for Dunedin. On Wednesday, his slider held less spin and the fastball was down over two mph. After striking out his first opposing batter, the former Cy Young finalist retired just four of his next 10 batters.
At his best, Manoah's command was never elite. He earned MVP votes in 2022 while leading the American League in hit batters and walking 51. He was a pivotal anchor at the top of Toronto's rotation, earning the club's first playoff start against the Seattle Mariners.
In 2023, Manoah's walk rate jumped as he allowed 6.1 free passes per nine innings. He posted a 5.87 ERA in 19 starts that year before the team sent him to the minors. Manoah returned in early 2024 before undergoing Tommy John surgery after five outings.
In four rehab starts this summer, Manoah has allowed nine earned runs and walked eight batters in seven innings. He'll return to Toronto to meet with coaches and medical staff on Thursday, Schneider said.
Here's Alek Manoah's strikeout thread from Wednesday afternoon.
His first one comes on a 78.4 mph backdoor slider for the called strike. pic.twitter.com/ZUC9kmt2bs
— Ryley Delaney🏳️‍⚧️ (@Ryley__Delaney) August 13, 2025
'I think when you're so focused on the health,' Schneider said. 'You can probably lose sight of your delivery and mechanics, things like that. Hopefully his in-between here is better and can kind of get him back on the horse.'
If Manoah manages to find his form and build a pitch count, the righty could still factor into Toronto's late-season pitching plans. But a return is no longer necessary with the state of the club's pitching depth. The Jays have five healthy starters in the big leagues right now, with a rehabbing Shane Bieber likely one start away from his return. Top prospect Trey Yesavage will debut in Triple A on Thursday, and could join the Jays down the stretch as rotation depth or bullpen help.
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Toronto has managed over two seasons without Manoah in the rotation. It can likely survive September and a playoff race without him this year. But with Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer set for free agency in the winter, a future rotation spot will be his to take, provided he can locate the zone. If he finds peak form again, Manoah could be much more than depth.
'It is nice to have the depth,' Schneider said. 'We have a lot of good pitching, a lot of good starting pitching. I think for [Manoah], just focus on getting in the zone, making sure he's recovering well and kind of let the chips fall where they may.'
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