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Blue Jays reportedly “have no plans” to trade Alek Manoah
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Photo credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
Ryley Delaney
Feb 1, 2024, 10:00 ESTUpdated: Feb 1, 2024, 09:57 EST
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It looks like a Blue Jays starting pitcher is staying put.
According to Jon Morosi of MLB Network, the Jays have no interest in trading the 26-year-old right-handed pitcher. It’s also worth mentioning that Morosi reported that Manoah has had great off-season workouts.
You likely know this by now, but Manoah’s 2023 was… not good. The right-handed pitcher had a 5.87 ERA and a 6.01 FIP in 87.1 innings pitched, along with a low 19 K% and an awful 14.2 BB%. For starters with 80 or more innings pitched, Manoah’s BB% ranked as the third worst behind Michael Kopech and Edward Cabrera out of 140 qualified pitchers.
The thing is, Manoah’s value to the Jays is evidently still high to the Jays, and for good reason. After pitching just 35 innings in minor league ball from 2019-2021, Manoah made his debut in May 2021 and the impact was immediate, as he pitched six scoreless innings at Yankee Stadium with seven strikeouts and two walks, giving up just two hits.
Manoah finished the 2021 season with a 3.22 ERA and a 3.80 FIP in 111.2 innings pitched, along with a career-high 27.7 K% and an 8.7 BB%. He helped stabilize a Blue Jays pitching staff that desperately needed good pitchers, and finished eighth in American League Rookie of the Year voting.
Not just that, but Manoah is just a season removed from finishing third in American League Cy Young voting. In 2022, Manoah finished the season with a 2.24 ERA and a 3.35 FIP in 196.2 innings pitched, with a 22.9 K% and 6.5 BB%.
Then you have Manoah’s contract situation. Had the pitcher played the entire season, he would have been eligible for super-two status, meaning he’d have four seasons of arbitration. However, the 26-year-old will make the league minimum in 2024, with three additional seasons of arbitration. The young pitcher who has been excellent in two of his three seasons, won’t become a free agent until after the 2027 season.
So yeah, it makes absolute sense that the Jays want to retain Manoah. Sometimes, pitchers have tough seasons, and you need not look further than Yusei Kikuchi and José Berríos’ 2022 and much better 2023 seasons.
Of course, it’s a matter of if, but if Manoah can pitch as he did in 2022, the already great Blue Jays rotation would arguably be the best in the league. Don’t trade him for an awful return.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads @Brennan_L_D.

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