Bad news on Alek Manoah as injury officially ends his season

After just five starts and 24.1 innings pitched this year in the majors, Alek Manoah's season is officially over, as first relayed by Sportsnet's Shi Davidi.

According to manager John Schneider, Manoah is set to undergo UCL surgery on June 17. Tommy John Surgery is an option, although the exact procedure is to be determined. Regardless, the right-hander's season is over shortly after it began.

Manoah was sidelined to begin the season due to right shoulder inflammation and then eventually joined Triple-A Buffalo on a rehab stint. Offseason signee Yariel Rodriguez took his spot in the rotation for a while, but when he too hit the IL with thoracic spine inflammation, Manoah was recalled from the Bisons.

Manoah was quite good in his short time with the big league club this season. He went seven innings in two of his five starts, his command looked better than it has in the past, and he finished with a 3.70 ERA and 1.03 WHIP on the season.

Manoah, still only 26-years old, is just two years removed from being an American League Cy Young finalist and finishing third place behind only Justin Verlander of the Astros and Dylan Cease of the White Sox. After a disastrous 2023 season, however, fans were eager to see how he bounced back this season, and after starting strong, this is an awful break for both Manoah and the Blue Jays.

With Rodriguez still on the shelf and Manoah now sidelined for the remainder of the season, the Blue Jays now find themselves with a gaping hole in their starting rotation. Trevor Richards played opener earlier this week against the Orioles in what would have been Manoah's spot in the rotation. Bowden Francis is another possibility to join the rotation until Y-Rod returns from the injured list.

Alek Manoah is under team control through the 2027 season.