Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah is getting another shot to bounce back from a disappointing 2023 season. Manoah spent the late half of the 2023 regular season in the minors to work on gaining his confidence back. The Blue Jays are set to give the 23-year-old another chance in the starting rotation. The Blue Jays focus is on acquiring position players this offseason. Despite his surprising downfall of a season, Manoah deserves another chance to bounce back and redeem himself.
Manoah Rejoining Rotation Spot in 2024
Manoah’s Tough 2023 Season
Kevin Gausman weighed in on Alek Manoah's tough 2023 season.
(via @FoulTerritoryTV) pic.twitter.com/LjLOEoKd9h
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 10, 2023
Cy Young finalist Kevin Gausman has weighed in on Alek Manoah’s 2023 season. Gausman has made some very interesting compelling comments regarding Manoah’s excessive workload that could have led to his problems on the mound in 2023. The 2023 season was not what anyone projected for the Blue Jays. You guys like narrative ball right? Guess what other pitcher came from the blue jays with a 5+ ERA? I’d say he turned out pretty well. Could Alek Manoah be our next Chris Carpenter? Last year on November 11th, Alek Manoah had a 153.9 surplus value on baseball trade values.
A year later, he’s being put in trade discussions for any player with a heartbeat. The hype and anticipation was on a high and for Manoah, we were continuing to wait for his 2022 Cy Young performance to shine through and it just never happened. In 2024, many are expecting Manoah to bounce back and transform back to his ace pitching. Just because he had one bad season doesn’t mean he should be traded. The 2024 season will be a true test for Manoah.
2022 ALEK MANOAH
197 IP
2.24 ERA
3.32 XERA
16.4% K-BB%
5.4% BARREL%
4.1 FWAR pic.twitter.com/q13ud2Tb79— J (@CardinalsReek) November 11, 2023
Final Thoughts
Manoah sounds ready to make his way back into the Blue Jays starting rotation and everyone including teammate and starting pitcher Gausman is rooting for him. It’s never easy to make a comeback when you’ve had an unexpected downfall of a season. But doesn’t mean it’s not possible. Pitcher Yusei Kikuchi and Jose Berrios both had turnaround seasons in 2023 following less than satisfactory seasons in 2022. Just because a player has one bad season doesn’t mean they should be traded or not taken seriously. Manoah is still very young and also has a lot of room to grow and learn. Goodluck to Manoah in 2024 and let’s hope he will have a bounce back 2024 season with the Blue Jays.
Main Photo Credits: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
