The Toronto Blue Jays, just a few years ago, believed Alek Manoah would be an ace for a long time.
On Tuesday, they put him on waivers for anyone in baseball to claim him.
It's been a drastic fall.
Manoah was designated for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster as Anthony Santander returned from his lengthy injury absence. A DFA comes with automatic waiver placement, so Manoah could be claimed.
If he passes through waivers, Manoah can stay in the organization, although off the 40-man roster.
It's not so much shocking that it happened as it is that Manoah got here at all.
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 wasn't the player he once was, for any number of reasons.
He still has two years of arbitration eligibility on his contract. He should just be entering his prime at the heart of a Blue Jays rotation heading to the playoffs.
Instead, Toronto has decided it doesn't even need Manoah anymore if someone else wants to claim him. It's a brutal potential ending.
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