Alek Manoah’s Return: The Boost Toronto Needs: Blue Jays’ Rotation Get Massive Upgrade with Ace’s Potential Comeback

It’s been over two years since Alek Manoah finished third in American League Cy Young voting.

That season, his first full season in the big leagues, the right-handed pitcher posted a 2.24 ERA and a 3.35 FIP in 196.2 innings pitched, with a 22.9 K% and a 6.5 BB%. Unfortunately, he struggled mightily in 2023, posting a 5.87 ERA and a 6.01 FIP in 87.1 innings pitched while spending part of the season injured and another portion getting rocked in the Florida Complex League.

After starting the 2024 season on the Injured List, Manoah looked good in his return to the big leagues, posting a 3.70 ERA and a 5.18 ERA in 24.1 innings pitched, with a 25.2 K% and a 7.8 BB%. Two of those five starts saw him go back-to-back games with seven innings pitched with no earned runs given up, albeit he did struggle in his first and fourth game, before being pulled from his fifth start.

The reason Manoah was pulled from his May 29th start against the Chicago White Sox was due to injury, which later resulted in Tommy John surgery. Manoah underwent the surgery on Jun. 18 and it’s the hybrid version of the surgery, meaning he’ll be back sooner than if he had gotten the full surgery. He is currently targeting an August return, according to The Star’s Mike Wilner.

Manoah was drafted by the Blue Jays in 2019 and found fast success. Once he was called up to the Blue Jays in May 2021, he not only pitched well but became friends with Hyun Jin Ryu. The South Korean pitcher earned an American League Cy Young nomination in 2020 and was solid for a portion in 2021, but underwent Tommy John surgery on the same day Manoah did, Jun. 18, two years prior.

Ryu returned on Aug. 1, 2023, and pitched well in his final season in the big leagues, as he had a 3.46 ERA and a 4.91 FIP in 52 innings pitched, As per usual, his K% of 17% was on the low side while he showed solid command with a 6.3 BB%. Ironically, his return was around the time when Manoah was optioned to Triple-A, as Manoah didn’t pitch again in 2023 after Aug. 10. Ryu filled in Manoah’s spot in the rotation as the Blue Jays pushed for a postseason spot.

With Manoah targeting an August return, perhaps he can have a similar season to what Ryu was able to do in 2023. Sure, his last full season in the big leagues was in 2022 and his 2023 was horrendous, but Manoah looked like his old self in 2024 before being sidelined.

More importantly, the surgery has helped Manoah find the mechanics that made him successful in 2022 according to him on a podcast with Wilner.

Time will tell how Manoah performs once he returns to the big leagues, but depending on how the Blue Jays are doing in the dog days of August, Monoah returning to his 2022 form in a playoff push could be huge for the Jays.