One of the best pitchers in the American League is going through a very bad patch in his career. This Tuesday (6), the Toronto Blue Jays announced that they were sending pitcher Alek Manoah for a stint in the minor leagues, after a series of bad games.
Manoah will not even go directly to Triple-A, but to the Florida Complex League team, considered “Rookie Level”, the lowest category in minors.
The last of his bad games in a very weak season so far came Monday (5) against the Houston Astros, where the pitcher allowed seven hits, one walk and six earned runs in an inning where he didn’t only had one batter. This further boosted his ERA, which rose to an abysmal 6.36, and his FIP, which is now at 6.52.
Manoah started the season billed as the Blue Jays ace, but 2023 hasn’t been kind to him. Because of these bad games, go to minors it makes sense to take him out of the spotlight for a bit as they try to reclaim their year. The Canadian team is not expected to pursue trade options for the pitcher at this time, although the end of the trade period is approaching.
To take Manoah’s spot on the roster, the Blue Jays tapped Bowden Francis, who hails from Triple-A, to join the team’s starting rotation. The rotation should now have Kevin Gausman at the top, followed by Chris Bassitt, who recently returned from the paternity list, Jose Berrios, Yusei Kikuchi and Bowden, who had good Triple-A games this year as a starter.
(Photo: Toronto Blue Jays on Twitter)
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