Toronto Blue Jays get good-news injury update on Alek Manoah
Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Alek Manoah is making good progress in his recovery from Tommy John surgery.
After finally starting to get his game back on track last season, Manoah was forced to leave a start in late May. By the time mid-June rolled around, the Blue Jays announced that he would be undergoing Tommy John surgery, not only ending his 2024 season but also taking a good chunk of his 2025 campaign away.
Though Manoah still has plenty of ways to go before returning to game action, today was a big step in the right direction. The right-hander was able to throw off a mound for the first time since undergoing his operation nine months ago.
Alek Manoahās first pitches off a mound since June, 2024. #BlueJays pic.twitter.com/qX9G0SGcSG
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) March 14, 2025
Manoah spoke with reporters afterward, calling the day “amazing” and a “whirlwind of emotion.” Though an exact timeline has yet to be revealed, the 27-year-old could join the Blue Jays during the second half of the season, should he continue to make progress.
Alek Manoah, as happy as I've ever seen him, called today "amazing" and a "whirlwind of emotion".
He's been playing catch, but has been counting down the days until he saw a mound again.
"The last thing missingā¦ Itās like, āI need that slope. Give me that slope.āā #BlueJays
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) March 14, 2025
Manoah wound up making just five starts last season, pitching to a 3.70 ERA along with 26 strikeouts. Despite the small sample size, the results were very notable, as he appeared to be turning things around after a disastrous 2023.
Following the 2022 season, Manoah was considered one of the MLB’s best pitchers. He had just come off a year in which he finished third in Cy Young voting, thanks to a sparkling 2.24 ERA through 196.2 innings.
For whatever reason, 2023 went significantly differently. Manoah was optioned two times and wound up finishing the campaign with an ugly 5.83 ERA. He was so bad that many felt he might never recover. There were even questions as to whether or not he had the yips.
Manoah did grind to get back to the MLB in 2024, though he still has a lot of work to do to prove he can get back to the level of pitcher he was early in his career. If he can become anything close, he’ll be a huge addition to the Jays’ rotation upon his return.