Atlanta Braves non-tender former Toronto Blue Jays All-Star Alek Manoah, now a free agent

Alek Manoah is set to his the open market.

Two months after the Braves claimed Manoah off of waivers from the Blue Jays, Alex Anthopolous declined to tender the 27-year-old right-hander a contract on Friday, sending Manoah to free agency.

Manoah was projected earn $2.2 million in arbitration. He spent the 2025 season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and working to return to the big leagues.

His last seven starts of the season came at triple-A Buffalo, where he pitched to a 2.97 ERA over 33.1 innings.

After moving rapidly through the Jays minor league system, the big righty had a massive breakthrough season as a rookie in 2021, when he went 9-2.

The Florida native followed that up with a 16-7 campaign the following season, as he pitched to a skimpy 2.24 ERA and finished third in American League Cy Young Award voting.

Manoah was also an AL all-star that season and drew rave reviews for his performance in the Midsummer Classic when he was entertaining while mic'ed up during the broadcast of the game.

Manoah hasn't been able to recapture the form that saw him emerge as one of baseball's top young arms.

Drafted by the Blue Jays in the first round in 2019, Manoah's command took a major step back in 2023, and he eventually found himself back in the minor leagues.