Toronto Blue Jays send Alek Manoah down to the minors again
Alek Manoah is being sent down again. The Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher is heading to the Buffalo Bisons, the team announced on Friday, where he’ll get reps in Triple-A.
Hagen Danner, a 24-year-old right-handed relief pitcher with no MLB experience, has been called up in Manoah’s place.
ROSTER MOVES:
🔹 RHP Hagen Danner recalled from Triple-A and will be active tonight
🔹 RHP Alek Manoah optioned to Triple-A pic.twitter.com/3cGabBXasb
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) August 11, 2023
Manoah has struggled mightily this season and was sent down to the minors on June 6 before being recalled a month later on July 7.
An All-Star last season, 2023, has been a year to forget for Manoah. The 25-year-old has a 3-9 record with a 5.87 ERA, 79 strikeouts, and a 1.74 WHIP this season.
It’s quite the departure from 2022, when Manoah had a 16-7 record, with a 2.24 ERA, a 0.99 WHIP, and 180 strikeouts. This is Manoah’s third season in Major League Baseball after being drafted by the Blue Jays 11th overall in the 2019 draft.
Manoah has started six games for the Blue Jays since being recalled, where he has been credited with a win on two occasions. In his last start in Cleveland on Thursday, Manoah gave up four hits and four earned runs and walked three batters.
While Manoah hasn’t starred on the mound since returning to the majors, he wasn’t getting rocked like earlier this season. The Blue Jays have three days off between now and August 21, allowing them to shorten their pitching rotation, making Manoah the odd man out.
Danner is a 2017 second-round draft pick of the Blue Jays. The 6-foot-1 pitcher has worked his way up through the Blue Jays’ system, beginning with the Vancouver Canadians in 2021, with stops in New Hampshire, Salt River, Dunedin, and Buffalo in 2022 and 2023.
The Blue Jays are currently holding onto the last wild card spot in the American League but are just 1.5 games up on the Seattle Mariners. They begin a three-game series at home to the Chicago Cubs tonight (note: tonight’s Blue Jays game isn’t being televised on Sportsnet).
Inter-league play will continue next week as the Blue Jays welcome the Philadelphia Phillies to Rogers Centre on Tuesday and Wednesday before heading out on the road for a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds.
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