\u201cNo, man,\u201d Manoah said, when asked if there was a mental anxiety element to his strike throwing struggles. \u201cI don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve dealt with any of that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think for me it\u2019s more when, mentally, you don\u2019t have your best stuff, I know for me, I\u2019m going to go out and compete with what I\u2019ve got.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manoah came back in 2024, but required Tommy John surgery after just five outings. True to form, it hasn\u2019t been an easy return for Manoah. He likened it to driving a car that isn\u2019t your own. You don\u2019t have a good feel for the brakes or how it moves. But eventually, you figure it out.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the stage that Manoah feels he\u2019s reached now. He\u2019s dropped a significant amount of weight \u2014 currently down to 285 pounds on his 6-foot-6 frame \u2014 addressing what was likely one of the root causes for his velocity dip and ineffective results. Plyometrics, movement exercises and cardiovascular work have been staples of his offseason.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s ready to \u201crun through a brick wall\u201d for the Angels, since they\u2019re the team that believed in him. The Braves offered him a split contract, but the Angels, whose offseason has been one of taking on one reclamation project after another, were willing to make a full financial commitment to him.<\/p>\n
A change of scenery, embracing a new coaching staff, teammates and front office, he hopes, will be a good thing. It\u2019s not that he viewed leaving the Blue Jays as a prerequisite necessity, but there\u2019s a net positive in going somewhere new. Some place he\u2019s wanted.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe checks all the boxes of a guy you want on your team,\u201d said Angels pitching coach Mike Maddux. \u201cHe got railroaded by some injuries here and there, but now he\u2019s on the way back. If we can recapture the health, he\u2019s going to be really good. His mental approach and his teammate approach is superb.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows what success looks like. He knows what it feels like. He knows what it tastes like. I think the sky\u2019s the limit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maddux said the movement on Manoah\u2019s pitches in his bullpens have been really good. The Angels don\u2019t have radar guns set up to measure velocity, Maddux said, but Manoah\u2019s fastball averaged 93.3 miles per hour during his first spring training start at the Arizona Diamondbacks facility on Sunday.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a tick up from the low 90s velocity he was averaging during his otherwise solid Triple-A rehab stint late last season. He said that whatever velocity numbers he puts up in early spring bullpens will likely be higher during the adrenaline rush of an actual game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI look up, and it\u2019s been two years since I\u2019ve been in a big-league game,\u201d Manoah said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t really hit me hard. I stay to the routine, I stay to the work every day.<\/p>\n
\u201cI trust the injuries, and I trust some of the down stuff is only going to make my platform bigger. It\u2019s going to make my voice a lot bigger for people that go through a lot of tough stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
\n Alek Manoah seemed like he would be a foundational piece of the next great Blue Jays teams. (Vaughn Ridley \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Manoah watched nearly all of Toronto\u2019s 18 playoff games on television. A month prior, he was DFA\u2019d by the club that had drafted him, developed him into a star, and had even handed him the ball to start its first postseason game of 2022.<\/p>\n