Are The Blue Jays Ready To Give Up On Alek Manoah?
What a fall from grace it’s been for Alek Manoah. A season ago, Manoah established himself as an ace for Toronto posting an ERA of 2.24 across over 196 innings. This year, Manoah posted an ERA of 5.87 and even got sent down to the minors. To make matters worse, this time when Manoah was sent down, he didn’t even bother showing up.
Manoah, 25, could be a change of scenery guy this offseason. It’s pretty clear that both sides could use a reset here. Manoah has a right to feel upset about getting sent to rookie ball and the Blue Jays have every right to be upset at Manoah not showing up to a minor league assignment.
This should be someone that teams should be in on. Manoah has every chance to turn into the modern-day CC Sabathia. The only difference is Sabathia was a lefty. However, Manoah stands 6-foot-6, 285, and relies on the same pitch mix. Manoah gets guys out with the fastball, slider, changeup combo. It wasn’t until Sabathia added a cutter that he became truly dominant.
Manoah is young enough to where he can still figure things out. We’re just a year removed from him being a true ace. Can someone teach Manoah a cutter too? Is Sabathia willing to mentor him? It’s just the beauty of baseball that a guy can look like that and be a beast at his craft. There is no reason to think that pathway doesn’t still exist for Manoah.
I wonder if Alek Manoah is available this offseason. This Blue Jays team may want out and could give up on him depending on the return. It’s something at minimum that team should be calling about.
