DUNEDIN, Fla. – A couple days after starting against the Tigers in Lakeland, Fla. on Feb. 27, Alek Manoah realized his shoulder was feeling cranky. At first, he thought the soreness would go away, but when he went to throw a bullpen he realized it wasn’t going to be quite so simple.
“Tried to put some gas on it in the bullpen and it just felt really heavy, really cranky,” the Blue Jays right-hander told Sportsnet on Wednesday. “That’s where we decided let’s not put the gas on it just yet. We banged that start (scheduled for March 3 against the Red Sox) and from there we’ve just been trying to get it feeling super healthy.”
In the 10 days since, Manoah has been receiving daily treatment while continuing to throw off flat ground to maintain his release point. Behind the scenes, he continues doing strengthening and stability exercises, recovery work and cupping to accelerate recovery.
“The biggest thing is letting it heal,” Manoah said. “Then gradually build each and every day.”
If Manoah’s progress continues, he expects to throw a bullpen session by early next week. Typically, starting pitchers require a month or more to build up to five innings from the time they start off a mound, so it’s clear he won’t be fully ramped up by opening day on March 28.
Of course each pitcher is different, so at this point it’s too soon to create a precise timetable, but the Blue Jays must prepare for the likelihood that one or two of their rotation spots will have to be backfilled to start the season.
While Kevin Gausman (shoulder) is ahead of Manoah, he may need to miss a turn or two in the rotation while he builds back up to full strength. In the meantime, Bowden Francis and Mitch White appear to be the leading candidates to start with Wes Parsons and Paolo Espino considered alternatives. Ideally, both Manoah and Gausman would return sometime in April, bringing the pitching staff back to full strength.
For Manoah, this wasn’t the way he planned to begin the season. After posting a 5.87 ERA in 87.1 innings last year and not appearing in a game after Aug. 10, he had visions of a bounce-back season. That’s still the goal, which makes the current delay frustrating, if necessary.
“Definitely,” Manoah said. “But the biggest thing is understanding it’s a long season. So it might be frustrating now, but it’s better than if it’s frustrating later.”
THE VALUE OF YOUTH…
Clearly Orelvis Martinez wasn’t a serious candidate to break camp with the Blue Jays or he wouldn’t have been optioned with more than two weeks remaining in spring training, but the 22-year-old infielder's not so far off after reaching triple-A Buffalo for 55 games late last year. All told, he hit 28 home runs last year, slashing .243/.340/.496 in 125 games in the upper minors while cutting down his strikeout rate.
Playing alongside Joey Votto in Wednesday’s minor-league game against the Detroit Tigers, Martinez turned on a pitch so hard it cleared the left field wall by 20-30 feet. It’s big-league power, but as the Blue Jays weigh his readiness for the majors, his swing decisions, defensive aptitude at second base and work behind the scenes will be considered, too.
…AND EXPERIENCE
There was one position player older than Justin Turner in the American League last year: Miguel Cabrera. There was one position player older than Votto in the National League last year: Nelson Cruz.
Now, Cabrera and Cruz have retired and Turner and Votto are both Blue Jays, giving them a good chance at having the two oldest position players in baseball sharing time at DH at some point before too long.
