.@Alek_Manoah6 continues to work hard post Tommy John surgery (June 2024). Manoah tells me he’s tentatively set to throw a bullpen in a couple weeks’ time - his first since the procedure.
Blue Jays: An overview of the starting pitcher injury timelines heading into 2025
Photo credit: Dave Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 6, 2025, 12:00 ESTUpdated: Mar 6, 2025, 07:00 EST
As 2025 Spring Training continues, the Toronto Blue Jays still have a decent amount of pitching depth sidelined with injury. Their starters in particular have been hit hard, with multiple of the team’s top prospects out for an extended period dating to last season.
Let’s examine who will be sitting on the sidelines to start the season for the Blue Jays in the starting department.
Alek Manoah
A former all-star and third-place finisher in Cy Young Award voting in 2022, Alek Manoah is likely one of the players the Jays would most like to return to form as soon as possible.
After struggling with a 5.87 ERA season in 2023, Manoah made just five starts in 2024 after starting the year on the IL and struggled to find his 2022 form. As it turns out, he tore his UCL during those five starts and needed season-ending surgery in June of that year.
The Tommy John surgery was a success and repaired the joint while also adding an internal brace to add additional support. The 27-year-old is expected to begin throwing off a mound in the coming weeks, but a full return is still months away.
His tentative return schedule appears to be sometime after the all-star break this season – likely August – but that depends on how well his rehab assignments go in the minor leagues. For Jays fans, look for Manoah to return in the same form as Hyun Jin Ryu did back in 2023, hopefully to similar results as well.
Ricky Tiedemann
As one of the Jays’ top prospects in recent years, the left-handed 22-year-old Ricky Tiedemann has shown dominant pitches in the minor leagues. His best year came back in 2022 when he pitched to a 2.17 ERA across A, A+, and AA through 18 starts.
Since then, he’s frequently made trips to the injured list, most recently needing Tommy John surgery in July 2024.
Tidemann’s upside has kept him high on prospect lists despite falling a few spots. It’s hard not to be ranked high when you throw upwards of 99 mph with great breaking balls and have amassed a 14.5 K/9 through 41 starts in the minor leagues.
Whether or not he’ll be able to maintain that level following Tommy John surgery remains to be seen even though he is still young. Expect to see him return towards the end of the 2025 season at the earliest, but remember that he’ll still need tune-up starts in the minors before making a major league debut, which likely won’t happen this year.
Adam Macko
Another left-hander on the Jays top prospect list, Canadian-raised pitcher Adam Macko has shown solid breaking pitches that moved him as high as AAA within the team’s system last year.
Unfortunately, Macko’s 2025 push was halted before it could start. A torn meniscus in his left knee required surgery last week and his return date is unknown. With that information, the Jays optioned him to AAA Buffalo.
Canadian lefty prospect Adam Macko has a meniscus tear in his left knee, said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. Macko felt something during a weekend side and has an appointment Wednesday. He’s looking at a probable surgery, added Schneider.
Most meniscus tears take a minimum of 4-6 weeks to recover from, but there’s no way of knowing exactly how long Macko’s specific case will take. Expect him to miss at least one or two months of this season, which is all depending on how rehab goes.
Angel Bastardo
Once a prospect shooting up the ranks of the Boston Red Sox system, Angel Bastardo’s rise was halted by the need for a Tommy John surgery in July 2024.
The Jays decided to take a chance on the Venezuelan by selecting him in the 2024 Rule Five Draft. Bastardo has shown flashes of major league potential, but has overall struggled in AA during his two seasons in Boston’s system to the tune of a 5.28 ERA and a 1.321 WHIP across 13 starts.
He’ll likely be on a similar timeline to Manoah, returning after this season’s trade deadline at the earliest. Regardless, he’ll still need more time to refine his craft in the minors, as he’ll try to improve his 5.36 ERA from 2024 and the Jays will have to contend with his Rule 5 Draft guidelines once healthy, otherwise he will need to be returned to the Red Sox.
Brandon Barriera
Another top left-handed pitching prospect for the Jays (there’s a trend), Brandon Barriera found himself in a similar boat to all the aforementioned prospects following just one start in 2024. He pitched just one and a third innings in that start before getting the hook due to discomfort. That discomfort required Tommy John surgery.
Since his injury was early last year, expect to see him back earlier than the others on this list – perhaps before the halfway point of the minor league season. There hasn’t been a ton of news regarding his injury timeline to start the year.
When the 21-year-old does return, expect it to be in either A or A+ ball as he looks to gain more professional experience and grow from his 4.42 ERA he posted two seasons ago in single-A.
Chad Dallas, Carson Pierce, Nolan Perry, T.J. Brock, and Landen Maroudis
Five more pitching prospects, five more Tommy John surgeries. If there was any bright side to so many depth pitchers being out for the Jays, it’s that their depth position players are healthy.
Some tidbits from my conversation with Blue Jays farm director Joe Sclafani today: -an adjustment with his front foot has helped Jace Bohrofen have a breakout 2nd half -RHP Nolan Perry has had UCL surgery, Chad Dallas is slated to undergo it as well /1
While all five of Chad Dallas, Carson Pierce, Nolan Perry, T.J. Brock, and Landen Maroudis are further down the prospect rankings than the other players on this list, it’s still unfortunate that they’ll be missing most, if not all, of 2025. Dallas was in the mix for making an appearance for the Jays in 2025 (in some capacity) while Brock wasn’t too far behind in double-A.
Spring training always produces shock performers, which the Jays would’ve really appreciated given how hurt their depth is. Unfortunately, with all of these pitchers out, they won’t get the chance to be that shock performer that earns a roster spot this year, at least from a rotation standpoint.