TORONTO -- The long and winding road for Alek Manoah now contains another roadblock with Friday's news that he has a sprain in his right UCL ligament. The Toronto Blue Jays placed the right-hander on the 15-day injured list and the severity of his elbow issue won't be clear until Manoah visits specialist Dr. Keith Meister in Texas next Thursday.
"I'm not a medical doctor but I think when you look at other cases around the league, yeah, he's going to miss some time," said Blue Jays manager John Schneider prior to Friday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Rogers Centre.
"Exactly how much [time], not sure. I think just getting in-person with a renowned doctor will shed a little bit more light on that and kind of go from there."
Manoah previously visited Meister, an orthopedic surgeon who's the Texas Rangers' team physician, last year to gain a better understanding of his arm.
The right-hander underwent an MRI on Thursday, one day after leaving in the second inning of his start against the Chicago White Sox. Schneider said Manoah had been receiving treatment on his elbow this week because it felt "a little cranky" following his May 24 start in Detroit.
Manoah tried to pitch through it on Wednesday but felt something on his 24th pitch of the game.
“Yeah, it sucks,” Manoah told reporters after the outing. “But I have my faith in God and I dealt with a lot of [expletive] this past year to get back to this point. And the game's tough, you know?”
This is the latest hurdle for Manoah in what's been a tumultuous stretch since the beginning of the 2023 campaign. The right-hander struggled mightily last season to the tune of a 5.87 ERA over 87.1 innings and didn't make a start in the majors after Aug. 10.
He endured a shoulder issue in spring training that delayed his start to this season, however, following several rehab appearances, Manoah finally began to look like himself in back-to-back dominant seven-inning outings against the Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays earlier this month. Overall, the 26-year-old owns a 3.70 ERA across five starts and 24.1 innings in 2024, walking eight and striking out 26.
"He's alright — he's got strong faith and he's been through a lot in the last year," said Schneider when asked how Manoah was dealing with his latest bout of adversity. "He's met everything head-on in the last year, and that's kind of where he's at right now. ... It sucks, but I think he's dealing with it about as good as you can."
The injury also shines a light on the lack of starting pitching depth within the organization. Manoah's next turn in the rotation is set for Tuesday against Baltimore and the Blue Jays will need a replacement.
Bowden Francis, on the injured list with a right forearm issue, has been rehabbing with the triple-A Bisons and could be an option, while fellow right-hander Yariel Rodriguez — who'll start for Buffalo on Friday as he recovers from a back injury — could also be in the mix, said Schneider.
Reliever Trevor Richards has filled in as a spot starter and covered bulk innings over the past two seasons for the Blue Jays, but Schneider said the preference would be to keep Richards in his regular relief role.
"Off the top of my head, I think the lean is to go with someone like Bowden or Yariel and kind of keep Trev in that role," said the manager. "And if we have to get creative with a couple other guys, we will. But, yeah, I think Trev going in and getting stretched out a little bit [3.1 innings on Wednesday] in Chicago was good. And if we have to utilize him a little bit more like that, we will. But we'd like a little bit of regularity going forward."
Ricky Tiedemann, the organization's top prospect, is not an immediate option but could figure into plans as the season unfolds. The left-hander, who's been sidelined with ulnar nerve inflammation, threw 20 pitches in a live batting practice at the club's player development complex in Dunedin, Fla., on Friday and could soon pitch in a rehab outing either in the Complex League or Florida State League, according to Schneider.
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.