Manoah set to make season debut vs. Nationals on Sunday
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Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah will make his 2024 MLB season debut on Sunday when he starts against the Washington Nationals, according to Keegan Matheson of MLB.com.
Manoah, 26, last pitched for Triple A Buffalo on Tuesday, allowing one run on two hits and two walks while striking out 12 batters in six innings.
The 6-foot-6 righty last pitched in the majors on August 10 of 2023, when he allowed four runs in four innings against the Cleveland Guardians.
He was sent down for the second time last year after that outing in what was essentially a lost season, where he pitched to a 5.87 earned-run average over 19 starts and an ugly 6.1 walks per nine innings.
Manoah's return comes at a very important time in the Blue Jays' young season, as Yariel Rodriguez, the fifth starter in the rotation, was placed on the 15-day Injured List with thoracic spine inflammation on Tuesday.
General manager Ross Atkins remains adamant that Manoah can contribute to the major-league club moving forward.
"I feel confident about him being a large part of our success next year, a significant piece in the rotation," Atkins said last December. "He's thinking about excellence.
"He's thinking about being one of the better starters in the game, and we believe that he can build back towards that."
Manoah is still working on recapturing the form that led him to a third-place finish in AL Cy Young voting in 2022, when he held a 2.24 ERA across 31 starts, with 180 strikeouts in 196.2 innings pitched.