Former Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Alek Manoah is back on the free-agent market once again.
Manoah was surprisingly cut from the Blue Jays roster in September to make room on the 40-man roster for Anthony Santander. The decision resulted in Manoah being placed on waivers, where he was claimed a short time later by the Atlanta Braves.
Despite the claim, Manoah didn’t throw any pitches in his time with the Braves organization, and is once again a free agent after the club chose not to tender him on Friday afternoon.
It’s been a frustrating past few years for Manoah. The 27-year-old was once viewed as one of the best young pitchers in Major League Baseball. In 2021, his rookie season, he impressed with a 3.22 ERA in 20 starts. It was the 2022 season, though, where he really took off.
Manoah made 31 starts in 2022, where he put up a dazzling 2.24 ERA along with 180 strikeouts in 196.2 innings. He was not only named to the MLB All-Star Game, but finished third in AL Cy Young voting.
Injuries and inconsistent play has plagued Manoah since. After struggling in 2023, he was back with the Blue Jays for a brief period in 2024 before undergoing a hybrid Tommy John surgery. That surgery sidelined him for a large portion of 2025, though he made a combined 10 starts across several minor-league levels.
The once-promising right-handed pitcher appears healthy and ready to go, but is in need of a team to take a chance on him. Whether a club still views him as having potential remains to be seen, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see someone give him a shot.
Though there will be some fans hoping for it, the odds of the Blue Jays being that team are slim. They already have a solid starting rotation of Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber, and Jose Berrios, and are considering adding another top-tier starter from the free-agent market.
Lead photo by
Kamil Krzaczynski/Imagn Images