Alek Manoah Struggles Mightily in Spring Debut as He Battles For Starting Rotation Spot

As Alek Manoah battles for the fifth starter spot in Toronto Blue Jays camp, he got off to a rough start on Tuesday, throwing just 1.2 innings and hitting three batters.

Heading into spring training, the Toronto Blue Jays said that starting pitcher Alek Manoah had the early leg up on the fifth spot in the starting rotation.

After Tuesday's spring debut, perhaps that grip is loosening a little bit.

Manoah struggled mightily agains the Detroit Tigers, allowing four earned runs on three hits in just 1.2 innings. In addition, he walked a batter and hit three others. He threw just 17 of 38 pitches for strikes.

Despite the struggle, Manoah was happy, according to Keegan Matheson of MLB.com:

Alek Manoah called a start like today's "inexpensive experience" and was happy with his velocity, despite the results. Last year, Manoah felt he was chasing velocity. Now that it's coming more naturally, he's confident he can refine that control...

Alek Manoah called a start like today's "inexpensive experience" and was happy with his velocity, despite the results.

Last year, Manoah felt he was chasing velocity. Now that it's coming more naturally, he's confident he can refine that control... #BlueJays

— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) February 27, 2024

Manoah is trying to regroup this year after a miserable 2023 season. The 26-year-old went 3-9 with a 5.87 ERA and struck out just 79 batters in 87.1 innings a year after being the Blue Jays Game 1 starter in the playoffs. He also was sent to the minor leagues on multiple occasions.

There were complaints about his fitness levels and his inability to adjust to the new pitch clock. He has appeared to be in much better shape entering this season.

All that said, he's still young, and is under team control through 2027, so you understand why Toronto didn't want to sell low on him this offseason - or perhaps sell at all. He went 16-7 in 2022 with a 2.24 ERA. He was an All-Star and finished third in the American League Cy Young voting.

The Blue Jays figure to have Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, Yusei Kikuchi and Jose Berrios in the rotation already. If Manoah continues to struggle, the newly-signed Yariel Rodriguez is an option.

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