The Atlanta Braves are taking a chance on a player who was once uber-talented.
The Toronto Blue Jays cut bait earlier this week on Alek Manoah, a former Cy Young finalist. And on Friday, the Braves claimed him off waivers according to The Athletic's Mitch Bannon.
Manoah was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays to clear a spot on the 40-man roster as Anthony Santander returned from his lengthy injury absence.
It was a drastic fall for Manoah.
In 2022, he was a Cy Young finalist with a 2.24 ERA and 180 strikeouts in 196.2 innings.
But Manoah fell off in 2023 with a 5.87 ERA, and although he had a 3.70 ERA in five starts in 2024, he's never really been the same pitcher.
In seven Triple-A starts this season, Manoah has a 2.97 ERA, but his Fielding Independent Pitching was a much worse 5.93.
His fastball velocity at Triple-A, per The Athletic's Mitch Bannon, was just 91 miles per hour, which is 2.6 mph below his career average.
Manoah simply had become a different pitcher than the one he was at his peak.
It's not clear whether that better version of Manoah is in there somewhere to unlock.
But after a disappointing season, the Braves are willing to take the chance to see if they can find the old Manoah in there somewhere.
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