Alek Manoah officially back with Blue Jays, will start Sunday against Nationals

With Yariel Rodriguez on the IL with thoracic spine inflammation, a decision has been made for who will start for the Toronto Blue Jays on their Sunday game against the Washington Nationals. Alek Manoah is now back for his return, as reported by Keegan Matheson. Manoah will face up against Mackenzie Gore.

Manoah has had a very turbulent past year, as he'd been sent down to Triple-A, brought back up, sent back down again, all in an attempt to get him back to previous form. It's been a difficult go so far in his minor league rehab placement. So far in 5 starts, Manoah has an 8.69 ERA and 1.98 WHIP. Batters are hitting .337 with an OPS of 1.014 against Manoah so far. The struggling has continued, but with a limited amount of options to go to, Manoah will be given another chance to make his case to stay on the major league roster.

There's still been some notes of encouragement for Manoah, most notably in his last outing. Manoah threw 6.0 IP with 12 Ks, with just a single earned run and a pair of walks. This was a major step in the right direction for Manoah, who only had a 19.0 K% last year, which was in the 20th percentile. With Manoah losing his command so significantly last year, getting his stuff back in a big way will play a big role for him and how he performs.

Manoah was one of the most dynamic pitchers to watch back in 2022, where he finished 3rd in the Cy Young voting. Now at just the age of 26, he will need to prove what he has left to establish both his future role with the Blue Jays, but also in MLB. There will be a lot of eyes on Manoah and his start tomorrow, but if he can get the Blue Jays back on track, that would be a major development for what this team will be able to do throughout this season.