Toronto Blue Jays Make Drastic Decision with Former Cy Young Finalist
The Toronto Blue Jays have made a drastic decision regarding their Opening Day starter.
The team has officially optioned Alek Manoah to the team's Florida complex, per reports.
It's a continued fall from grace for Manoah, who just last year was one of the best young pitchers in all of baseball.
He made the American League All-Star team in 2022, finishing up at 16-7 for the season. He pitched to a 2.24 ERA in 2022 and finished third in Cy Young voting. He also received MVP votes and started Game 1 of the Blue Jays playoff series against the Seattle Mariners.
The Jays were beaten by Seattle in that series in two games.
This year has been exceptionally rough for the burly right-hander. He's currently 1-7 with a 6.36 ERA for Toronto and leads the league in walks allowed. He's allowed 11 homers in just 58 innings and has struck out only 48 batters in those 58 innings.
On Monday night, he was pummeled by the world champion Astros, allowing six earned runs and seven hits in 0.1 innings. The Blue Jays lost the game, 11-4.
The move may be drastic, but it may be necessary for a Toronto team looking to keep pace in a very crowded American League playoff picture. Not only do the Jays have to contend with the entire American League East for playoff spots, they also have to wrestle with the Astros, Rangers, Angels and Mariners. They can't afford to be punting every fifth day.
Toronto is currently 33-28 and in fourth place in the division.
They'll play the Astros again on Tuesday at 7:07 p.m. ET.
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