Manoah using elbow surgery rehab to correct course after difficult stretch
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After injuries delayed his start to the season, and elbow surgery in June cut his season short after just five starts, Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah is looking to use his rehab period as a building block to return to his early-career form.
Speaking to TSN Blue Jays reporter Scott Mitchell on the Scott Mitchell Show, Manoah described his injury, his progress in rehab and his outlook moving forward in his career.
"You never know what a big injury is until you have it ... I've never had to come out of a game," Manoah said.
"I always look at it like 'Hey, I can grind, I'll go get us four, five, six innings.'"
Manoah was off to a strong start against the Chicago White Sox on May 29, racking up three strikeouts over 1.2 innings before manager John Schneider came to check on him after he threw a ball to Dominic Fletcher with below-average velocity.
After a short discussion, the 26-year-old was pulled from the game.
"For me to have to come out of a game, my brain was telling me 'buddy we've been through some s**t, but I don't think we're going to get through this one,'" Manoah said.
"[Blue Jays shortstop] Bo Bichette was behind me [when Schneider came out to the mound], saying 'get him out, get him out he's going to hurt himself even worse, get him out.'"
Manoah was placed on the 15-day injured list two days later, and had successful elbow surgery on June 17.
Rehabilitation from the surgery typically takes around a year, which Manoah confirmed.
"Nine months I'll be throwing bullpens, 12 months live batting practice, and we'll see where we go from there," he said.
Manoah said that no two stories of rehabilitation from the surgery are the same, after talking to many Blue Jays teammates that have had similar procedures - including Chad Green, Chris Bassitt and Jordan Romano.
The 6-foot-6 righty is hoping to use the time off constructively.
"The hardest part is 'how can I not just be a dud.' I'm a dud physically, I can't pitch, I can't play, but how can I still mentor younger guys, help in pitchers meetings," said Manoah.
"This is a big part of my career, it's a 13-month process, this could go one way or the other way, so I have to do everything to make sure it goes the right way."
With the surgery officially marking an end to Manoah's 2024 campaign, it also marked the end of the roughest stretch of his young career.
Manoah finished third in American League Cy Young voting in 2022, but struggled mightily in 19 starts in 2023, a season which saw Manoah demoted twice to the minor leagues.
Shoulder inflammation kept Manoah out of the lineup for the first month of the season in 2024, and in his five starts this year, he mixed a pair of strong outings and a pair of weak ones to a 3.70 ERA.
"I had a couple of starts this year where I thought 'this is me, I can do this, I'm going to have a hell of a year,'" Manoah said.
"You get hurt and it's like 'I've been hurt and bad at the same time,' at least I was really good so I have something to springboard off of."