“Manoah has to contribute.”
The Toronto Blue Jays’ late-inning key man is not Hyun-jin Ryu, who is entering the final season of a four-year, $80 million free agent contract. It’s Alec Manoa, according to Canada’s Sportsnet. In its late-season outlook for Toronto on Nov. 13 (ET), Sportsnet said that Manoa’s contributions will help stabilize the starting rotation.
“Manoa was encouraging in his major league return (5 hits, 8 strikeouts against the Detroit Tigers on Aug. 8 – 2-7 on the season) with six innings of one-run ball, but there’s no guarantee he’s his old self again. The Detroit lineup didn’t test him much. Manoa’s velocity hasn’t returned to 2022 levels, and the lack of horizontal movement on his slider has persisted.”
Toronto starts the second half with Kevin Gausman, Jose Barrios, Chris Bassitt, Yusei Kikuchi and Manoa. Add to that the arrival of Hyun-jin Ryu in late July and the possibility of an outside pitching acquisition, as recently announced by general manager Tony Atkins. If that happens, two of Bassett, Yusei, and Manoa will be out of the starting rotation.카지노사이트
According to Sportsnet, “Manoa’s return was undoubtedly a step in the right direction, but Toronto isn’t sure what it will get from him going forward. Toronto went 18-13 with Manoa last year, but only 4-9 before he was demoted to the minors for the 2023 season.”
In the end, Sportsnet sees Manoa’s return as the most important factor. “If Manoa is indeed back, Toronto has five reliable starters (including Ryu) and doesn’t need to rely on Ryu for more than a wild-card spot or spend a lot of assets at the trade deadline to acquire a starter,” Sportsnet wrote.
This means that he sees Ryu as a constant in the starting rotation when he returns in late July. The calculation is that if Manoa can produce, they won’t need to make any outside acquisitions. The media outlet also cited staying healthy and adding a right-handed bat as challenges for the second half.
Toronto finished the first half with a 50-41 record and third place in the American League. They were seven games behind the first-place Tampa Bay Rays. But they are tied for second in the wild-card race with the Houston Astros. They need to hold off the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, who are one or two games back.