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Alek Manoah's MLB hiatus has come to a merciful end. The Toronto Blue Jays are recalling the 25-year-old right-handed starter to the MLB roster following his colossal struggles earlier in the 2023 season. He will take the mound Friday night against the Detroit Tigers, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.
The last month spent in rookie-level Florida Complex League and Double-A New Hampshire has probably felt like an eternity for Manoah and Blue Jays fans. His rapid and inexplicable descent forced the organization to make a devastating decision that subjected the 2022 American League All-Star and Cy Young candidate to a deluge of criticism and mockery.
Ideally, he can now move past all of that and be a revitalizing force for a 45-40 club that entered this season with big expectations. The writing was on the wall for an immediate return after Manoah had a solid outing for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats on Sunday. Toronto would have probably called him up sooner- he was sent down June 6th- had he not continued his downward spiral.
Alek Manoah arguably reached the low point of his young career when he was shelled for 11 runs by the New York Yankees' Complex League team more than a week ago. Fans might be comfortable if he was a bit more removed from that disastrous outing before making another MLB start. The timing is also interesting, considering that All-Star break commences just a couple days later. It is possible the Blue Jays want to take the long week to ponder their options just in case Manoah implodes again.
In any case, the 2019 first-round pick is too talented not to warrant the risk. He hopes to immediately slash the 6.36 ERA he recorded in 13 starts this season when he and Toronto head to Detroit for a weekend series.
