The Toronto Blue Jays have done the unthinkable with Alek Manoah, as the club has optioned the struggling starting pitcher to the Florida Complex League, according to the team's Twitter account.
The move comes just a day after Manoah hit rock bottom in a start against the Houston Astros, as he failed to make it out of the first inning en route to surrendering six runs to the defending champions on Monday.
The brutal start was a microcosm of the 2023 season for the Blue Jays hurler, who has gone from finishing third in the Cy Young Award voting in 2022 to recording a ghastly 6.36 ERA this season.
It's one of the more puzzling collapses for a starting pitcher in recent memory, as Manoah appears to be healthy.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider seemed to acknowledge the possibility of a minor league stint for Manoah before his disastrous start against the Astros.
It's not necessarily shocking, then, that the Blue Jays decided to option Manoah.
What's surprising is that the team sent him down to, not Triple-A, Double-A or Single-A, but to the Rookie level Florida Complex League.
Perhaps the Blue Jays are hoping it will serve as something of a wake-up call for Manoah.
He- and the Blue Jays- need it to be.
Toronto entered the 2023 campaign with World Series aspirations, but sit at 33-28, good for fourth place in the loaded American League East division.
And Manoah, regarded as the staff ace, was considered central to the team's success.
Instead, the Blue Jays hurler is one of the main reasons why the team has underachieved thus far.
Toronto fans had better hope that Manoah can figure things out soon.
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