Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah to make double-A start on Sunday
Posted July 1, 2023 1:21 pm.
Last Updated July 1, 2023 2:33 pm.
After a stint in the Florida Complex League, struggling Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Alek Manoah is heading up to double-A New Hampshire, manager John Schneider announced on Saturday.
Alek Manoah will start for double-A New Hampshire tomorrow, says Blue Jays manager John Schneider.
— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) July 1, 2023
Schneider says Manoah is scheduled to start for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats on Sunday against the Portland Sea Dogs, the affiliate of the Boston Red Sox in Maine.
He said that it was important to the organization to put Manoah in a situation closer to Major League Baseball’s atmosphere.
“You’re playing under the lights and have people announcing the batters that are coming up and you have an actual bat boy instead of a player running to grab the bats,” said Schneider. “I think it’s just the logical next best thing for him.”
In his first start in the Florida Complex League, Manoah allowed 11 runs in 2.2 innings against a New York Yankees affiliate on Tuesday.
Schneider said that pitching at the double-A level will give the Blue Jays a better sense of how far Manoah has progressed since the demotion.
“I think (double A) just gives him and us a better feel of where everything’s at,” said Schneider.
The Blue Jays sent their opening-day starter down to Florida in early June after he started the season with a 1-7 record and 6.36 ERA in 13 starts for Toronto.
Manoah went to the All-Star Game last season in his first full year in the majors. He was 16-7 with a 2.24 ERA and finished third in Cy Young voting.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jays recalled right-hander Thomas Hatch from triple-A Buffalo on Saturday and optioned fellow RHP Trent Thornton to their top minor-league affiliate.
