Blue Jays' Ross Atkins explains decision to designate Alek Manoah for assignment
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Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins addressed the media about why he designated Alek Manoah for assignment.
It's an abrupt end to Manoah's time in Toronto. The Jays selected the big right-hander with the 11th overall pick in the 2019 draft.
The West Virginia product reached the big leagues two seasons later. He fired 20 starts with a 3.22 earned run average to finish eighth in AL Rookie of the Year balloting.
Manoah built off that promising debut with a fantastic first full season in the big leagues. He threw just under 200 innings with a 2.24 ERA across 31 starts.
It's a relatively swift fall from grace for a pitcher who was among baseball's best young arms three years ago, however he never fully recovered from his poor outings from 2023-2024.
Why Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins decided to move on from Alek Manoah
We just spoke to GM Ross Atkins about the decision to DFA Alek Manoah:
"This just came down to a roster crunch and us feeling like the best decision for us to hold depth and support the staff and push forward in very important weeks. We chose others over him, obviously."
"This just came down to a roster crunch and us feeling like the best decision for us to hold depth and support the staff and push forward in very important weeks. We chose others over him, obviously."
Simply put, the Blue Jays feel Manoah is no longer in position to help at the MLB level. Atkins said it himself: "We chose others over him."
Toronto could have moved righty Jake Bloss, who had season-ending elbow surgery in May, to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man roster spot for Santander, allowing them to keep Manoah. They opted not to do that.
Although the Triple-A season ended Sunday, the Blue Jays could have sent Manoah to their spring training complex in Florida to be part of their "stay ready" group.
Those are the extra players every postseason teams keeps on standby in case there's an injury or a roster move that needs to be made in October. Toronto does not think Manoah is even an emergency postseason option.
Blue Jays starting pitcher Kevin Gausman gave his thoughts about the move.
Kevin Gausman on Manoah's DFA:
«I've become really close to Alek, and I love him even more as a human being than I do at pitcher. I know he's going to be fine, but I'm going to miss being around him.»
«I've become really close to Alek, and I love him even more as a human being than I do at pitcher. I know he's going to be fine, but I'm going to miss being around him.»
What's next for Alek Manoah going forward
Manoah will be placed on waivers this week. That's in reverse order of the standings and is not league specific.
The Rockies will have the first opportunity to decide whether to take a flier. They'll be followed by the White Sox, Nationals, Pirates, Twins and so on.
There's a good chance someone will place a claim and hope that a healthy offseason allows Manoah to rebuild arm strength.
He'd remain controllable for another two seasons with a new club and still has two minor league options, so a claiming team could have him begin next season in Triple-A.
If he clears waivers, Manoah would likely accept an outright assignment and remain with the Jays for the remainder of the season, but he'd qualify for minor league free agency at the start of the offseason.
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