The Toronto Blue Jays are cleaning house

Ross Atkins, John Schneider, and the entire Blue Jays organization dropped a bombshell on Tuesday, when they announced that they had designated former ace pitcher Alek Manoah for assignment.

Two weeks prior, Toronto also parted ways with former top prospect Orelvis Martinez, who himself was DFA'd to make room for Manoah.

If you had told 2022 Blue Jays fans that this is where the team would find itself today, you probably would have been laughed out of the wild card series.

But alas, this alternate reality is here.

While neither Manoah nor Martinez had particularly great results in the minors this season, money also played a factor. Manoah is owed roughly $2.2MM and clearly the front office wasn't confident that the one-time All-Star and opening day starter would return to form and become the pitcher he once was.

Martinez has also seen his stock plummet after receiving an 80 game PED suspension one game into his major league career last season. With the emergence of Addison Barger and with a dearth of players capable of playing up the middle, there wasn't much room on the roster for an offensive first middle infielder.

While there is a chance that one - or both - players could re-sign with Toronto on minor league deals with invites to Spring Training, a fresh start might be the best scenario for all involved.

What a month it's been.