Blue Jays Will Recall Alek Manoah For Start Against Tigers
Alek Manoah is coming back to the big leagues.
After a month of pitching labs and minor-league starts, the righty's next outing will come back at the top level. Manoah's next outing is slated for Friday against the Detroit Tigers manager John Schneider told the media, including Shi Davidi.
"He's fired up," Schneider told Sportsnet's Hazel Mae.
Manoah was sent down to the Florida Complex league on June 6th after posting a 6.36 ERA in his first 13 starts of the season. The Blue Jays sent Manoah to work on his delivery, mechanics, and tempo at Toronto's development complex in Dunedin, hoping the righty could re-find his Cy Young finalist form from 2022.
"I think whenever he's ready is when he's ready," Toronto manager John Schneider said when Manoah was first sent down.
After a few weeks of throwing side sessions and working in the pitching lab, Manoah returned to game action with a rough first outing, allowing 11 runs in an FCL start. But in his second outing, Manoah pitched five innings of clean action for Double-A New Hampshire, allowing just one run while striking out 10 batters. He topped out at 95 MPH on the fastball in the second start.
After a month away from MLB and two minors outings, Manoah's next task will be the MLB Detroit Tigers. While the Tigers are one of MLB's worst lineups, ranking out third-worst in team OPS this season, they're the first true test of how much progress Manoah's made over the last month. In just a few days, the Blue Jays will get an indication of if their Opening Day starter is back.
Mitch Bannon is a baseball reporter for Sports Illustrated covering the Toronto Blue Jays and their minor league affiliates.Twitter: @MitchBannon