Toronto Blue Jays fans react to team sending Alek Manoah down to Florida Complex League: "This had to happen" "Hopefully he comes back to form soon"
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah has been struggling mightily this season. After an All-Star year in 2022, he has looked like a completely different pitcher this season.
In 58 innings, Manoah has compiled a 6.36 ERA and a 1-7 record. His last start on Monday against the Houston Astros was his worst yet. He only lasted 0.1 innings while giving up six runs on seven hits. This has prompted the team to send him down to the Florida Complex League.
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🔹 RHP Alek Manoah optioned to Florida… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/r4rtfqzboV
Last season, Manoah finished third amongst Dylan Cease and Justin Verlander for the American Cy Young Award. This is why this sudden fall from grace is so surprising.
Manoah has seen his strikeout rate decrease and his walk rate increase. Toronto can't afford to keep running him out there. Something is clearly wrong, and he needs time to figure it out.
"This had to happen. You hope that Manoah can go down there and get it figured out" - one fan tweeted.
This had to happen. You hope that Manoah can go do there and get it figured out. #NextLevel twitter.com/bluejays/statu…
"He needs it, hopefully he comes back to form soon" - another fan tweeeted.
he needs it, hopefully he comes back to form soon twitter.com/BlueJays/statu…
@BlueJays Florida complex league? That’s insane. No shot he can’t just be sent to triple A lmao. Ain’t the complex league for like first year players?
@BlueJays Ily Alek, you got this
Toronto Blue Jays fans are surprised the team is sending Alek Manoah down to the Florida Complex League. It's a league dedicated to rookies, but it is where one of the team's pitching labs is located.
@BlueJays Wow… it actually happened
@BlueJays It worked for Roy, it will work for Alex.
@BlueJays Genuinely feel for Manoah.
@jkljoshh @BlueJays Same. You can see it’s killing him and he doesn’t shy away from saying exactly what his problem is.
@jkljoshh @BlueJays He'll bounce back! We just gotta keep supporting him.
While fans feel for Manoah, they have all the confidence in the world that he will figure it out. Fans know they'll need him at the top of his game if they want to make a run in the division.
Toronto Blue Jays needed to demote Alek Manoah
The Toronto Blue Jays spent as much time as possible hoping Alek Manoah would magically find himself again. They're at the point where they can't afford to do that anymore.
Going into Tuesday, Toronto sits with a 33-28 record, ranking them fourth in the American League East. They are 9.5 games behind the division-leading Tampa Bay Rays.
Given how the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles also look, this will be one of the most competitive divisions in baseball. They need Manoah to find the magic he produced last season and do it fast.
Hopefully, Manoah can escape from this nightmare of a start and regain his form. He's one of the most entertaining pitchers in the league to watch, as he isn't afraid to hold anything back.