Alek Manoah #6 of the Toronto Blue Jays walks off the field after being removed from the game against the Houston Astros in the first inning of an MLB game at the Rogers Centre on June 5, 2023, in Toronto, Ontario.
After the 2022 season, the Toronto Blue Jays’ Alek Manoah was on top of the world.
He had just produced a 2.24-ERA season, putting him among the three AL Cy Young candidates that year.
However, he was a mess to begin 2023, and the Blue Jays had to send him to the minors, where they have their spring training complex, to reset things.
He ended up with an awful 5.87 ERA due to conditioning, attitude, and mechanical troubles.
Chris Bassitt says Alek Manoah has “matured a lot” pic.twitter.com/rjgJkNs5Dv
— Chris Rose Sports (@ChrisRoseSports) May 28, 2024
He missed the first few games of the 2024 season due to a shoulder injury before making his debut on May 5.
Overall, he has a 3.97 ERA after four starts and 22.2 innings, thus the results have been uneven.
He’s bounced between dominant and terrible starts and has yet to establish consistency.
Still, he looks far better than last year, which signifies growth and indicates a lot of work behind the scenes.
His Blue Jays teammate, Chris Bassitt, had positive things to say about him and the effort he has done.
“Chris Bassitt says Alek Manoah has’matured a lot,'” Chris Rose Sports tweeted, attaching a short video of the interview.
Bassitt, a successful veteran, stated that Manoah has developed as a person and fought hard to return to the Jays’ rotation.
“Be humble, be thankful, and keep on working,” the pitcher advised his younger buddy.
He also described him as “hyper-competitive,” which will benefit him as long as everything is under control and for the right reasons.
Toronto wants Manoah to produce, perhaps not as well as he did in 2022, but at least to return to being a consistent pitcher who can take the ball every five days.
This will be regarded a victory.
