MLB insider Ken Rosenthal expects Alek Manoah to return to MLB with a vengeance
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MLB insider Ken Rosenthal shares his thoughts on why the Toronto Blue Jays decided to designate Alek Manoah for assignment and what is in store for his future.
Rosenthal went on the Foul Territory Podcast shortly after the Blue Jays announced that they cut ties with the former All-Star and was just as surprised as everyone else.
When asked what Rosenthal's first thoughts were when he heard the announcement he responed:
"I was surprised. I would think that most people in baseball were surprised."
Rosenthal suggested that the organization weren't impressed with what they were seeing from Manoah during the final few games of his rehab.
"They (Ross Atkins) did not like what they were seeing from Manoah, velo was down, body wasn't great, and of course he has had some conflict with the organization."
Rosenthal commented about the quick rise and fall from grace of Alek Manoah and how he may learn from this experience.
"His rise was pretty spectacular, for a while there he looked like he might be the next great pitcher in the major leagues. He was in the All-Star game all mic'd up, he was a really entertaining player and he was a really good player for a long time, and the injuries happened and here is where he is today."
Rosenthal gives his opinion on what to expect to see from Alek Manoah in the near future
"If I were Alek Manoah right now I'd be fired up by this. I'd be like okay, you've given up on me when you could've DFA'd any number of other players. I'm sure they had many others on their 40-man that they could've lopped off, but they gave up on him. So it's a challenge to him obviously, It's an organization saying we don't want you anymore, and I would expect Alek Manoah to come out of this thinking, you know what, I've got something to prove, and I'm gonna prove it."
Overall, designating the big right-hander for assignment is a puzzling decision, but one that Atkins and the rest of his management team felt was best at this time.
If he clears waivers, Manoah would likely accept an outright assignment and remain with the Blue 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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