Great News: Blue Jays Celebrate the Re-emergence of Right-Hander, a Former Cy Young candidate

There have been few positives for the Blue Jays this season, but Alek Manoah’s re-emergence is certainly one to celebrate.

Manoah has regained his previous command and velocity, along with the mound presence and confidence that fans loved during his first two seasons.

The former Cy Young candidate was in top form on Sunday, holding the Tampa Bay Rays to just one hit over seven scoreless innings in a 5-2 victory at Rogers Centre. Manoah struck out seven and walked only one, while Daniel Vogelbach contributed with a solo home run as part of his three-hit performance.

“We didn’t want anyone from the AL East coming into our house and sweeping us,” Manoah said after the Jays snapped a three-game losing streak. “The main goal was to set the tone, get a big win, and start building momentum.”

Manoah will need to keep pitching like this for a while before he’s fully back, but his recent outings have been very promising for an organization that hasn’t had much to celebrate lately. He hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last two starts and has shown the mid-90s velocity that was missing for much of 2023.

Last season, it was fair to question if this version of Manoah would ever return. His mechanics fell apart, resulting in a 5.87 ERA over 19 outings. He walked 6.1 batters per nine innings and gave up 15 homers in 87 1/3 innings.

His performance was so poor and frustrating that when the Jays optioned him to Triple-A Buffalo in mid-August, he refused to report. A disagreement over an alleged shoulder injury caused friction within the organization, eventually leading to Manoah being given the rest of the year off.

This could have marked the end of Manoah’s significant tenure with the Jays. After another shoulder injury this spring, a comeback seemed even less likely. Yet here we are in mid-May, and while the Jays are struggling, Manoah is regaining the form that made him one of the team’s most valuable pitchers. His four-seam fastball is averaging a career-high 94.0 mph, with a similar increase in his devastating slider.

Velocity isn’t everything, but it certainly helps. More importantly, Manoah has been displaying excellent command of his pitches lately. After struggling with control in his season debut, he has walked only two batters over his last 14 innings.

“Manoah looked great again today,” said Jays manager John Schneider, noting that Manoah completed seven innings in back-to-back starts for the first time since early September 2022. “I love how he’s attacking the zone. His last outing versus Minnesota and today, this is probably the best he has looked since 2022.”

The Jays didn’t need much offense to support Manoah on Sunday. Vogelbach started the scoring with a solo homer in the second inning and later sparked a rally with a two-out double in the fourth. George Springer followed with an RBI double, contributing to a two-run inning.

The Jays added two more runs in the sixth with a double by Alejandro Kirk, putting the game out of reach. It was the fifth time this month the Jays scored at least five runs and the first in over a week. They are 15-2 when scoring at least five runs, but just 20-25 overall.

“There’s a ton of heart in that clubhouse,” Manoah said. “Some of our losses have been one-run games. We came back from a seven-run deficit a few days ago. This team is competing, and with the talent we have, the momentum feels like it’s shifting, and it’s about keeping it there.”

The Jays have just finished one of their tougher stretches of the year and will play their next 10 games against the last-place Chicago White Sox and the struggling Detroit Tigers.

If the Jays hope to turn their season around, they need to start now. They’ll need the bats to heat up, and continued strong performances from Manoah would certainly help.

From the highs to the lows and back again in the span of a year, it has been quite a journey for Manoah.