Alek Manoah’s season is likely over and that’s not because of injury issues. Manoah reportedly has some attitude toward the Toronto Blue Jays over their handling of him.
Manoah was the No. 11 overall pick by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2019 out of West Virginia. He was living up to that draft position early in his career. Manoah burst onto the scene with a 9-2 with a 3.22 ERA over 20 starts after making his MLB debut in 2021.
He was even better last season.
The 25-year-old went 16-7 with a 2.24 ERA, made his first All-Star team, and was voted third in the AL Cy Young award race. He was named the Blue Jays’ Opening Day starter this season, but he got hammered in his season debut and things got worse from there. He allowed at least five runs in a start in six of his first 18 starts this season. He will finish the season 3-9 with a 5.87 ERA.
So what happened? That’s what he and the Jays were trying to figure out.
Manoah was sent down to the minors in June after he allowed six runs over 0.1 innings against the Astros. He was recalled a month later and posted a 4.34 ERA over four starts in July. But after he gave up four runs over four innings against Cleveland on Aug. 10, the team sent Manoah down to Triple-A. Things got tricky from there.
SportsNet’s Jeff Blair reported on his “Blair & Barker” show on Monday that Manoah refused his assignment to Triple-A Buffalo after being demoted.
According to Blair, Manoah did not report to Buffalo for two weeks even though he was taking up a roster spot and the team needed pitching help at the time. Blair also says that Manoah has run out of time to ramp back up to potentially work his way back to help the Jays.
“It’s my understanding that Alek Manoah hasn’t even pitched in a side session or a bullpen since he’s been optioned back,” Blair reported.
That is why Blair says Manoah’s season is likely over despite doctors not finding any medical issues with the pitcher. Toronto entered played on Tuesday 80-64, which had them in position to receive a wild-card berth.
More must-reads: