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Blue Jays Drop Sudden Alek Manoah News on Friday
Blue Jays Drop Sudden Alek Manoah News on Friday originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
After winning six of their last seven games at home, the Toronto Blue Jays open up a nine-game road trip on Friday, kicking off against the Minnesota Twins.
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Despite some tough injury luck to start the season, Toronto (33-29) is holding up in the competitive AL East, currently 5.5 games back of the division-leading New York Yankees.
On Friday morning, the team revealed some good news on a pair of pitchers recovering from major injuries, as reported by The Athletic's Mitch Bannon.
Perhaps the most exciting was a sudden update on former first-round pick Alek Manoah, who hasn't pitched live in a year.
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah (6) in the Hamilton-Imagn Images
According to Bannon, the 27-year-old Manoah is "expected to face live hitters for the first time" on Tuesday since undergoing a hybrid internal brace procedure in June 2024.
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Manoah has experienced a roller coaster beginning to his MLB career after making the All-Star team and finishing third in AL Cy Young award voting in 2022. The next season was not good to him or Toronto after posting a 5.87 ERA and 3-9 record over 19 starts and 87 1/3 innings. However, he gave fans a glimmer of hope to start last season with a 3.70 ERA in five starts before his elbow injury sidelined him long term.
Another fellow first-round draft pick also recovering from Tommy John surgery, Brandon Barriera, is farther ahead in his rehabilitation. As for his next step, he'll soon be joining the Florida Complex League (FCL) on a rehab assignment, per Bannon.
Barriera, 21, hasn't pitched since last April.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
