Potential return shouldn't change Blue Jays' trade deadline plans

Alek Manoah is moving along towards game time action, throwing against live hitters for the first time on Tuesday. The next step in his rehab is to advance to a rehab assignment in the lower levels of the organization. The workload is building up similar to a spring training format and that could set him up to join the Blue Jays after the Trade Deadline. Toronto should embrace his role back to the team, but it must not prevent their initial plans at the deadline.

Going after a legitimate starting pitcher is the goal at the deadline. Toronto needs to acquire a controllable arm to help this team sustain success in the 2025 playoffs and beyond that. The only problem is, Manoah returning is going to limit a spot on the big league roster and could prevent Toronto from acquiring more impact arms. Therefore the Blue Jays need to be strict with usage for when he returns so they can still add a big rotation arm.

Blue Jays cannot let Alek Manoah be the rotation answer at the MLB Trade Deadline.

Manoah should get built up like a starter, especially so he can contribute in 2026. So to stay built up, he should become a long reliever for the team in the playoff hunt. When Toronto adds a starter at the deadline, Manoah and Eric Lauer should move to the bullpen as long relievers. They have to do this to open a spot in the rotation anyways, but the point is that Manoah cannot be their answer in the rotation.

This doesn't appear to be the plan anyways. Ross Atkins appears very motivated to acquire an arm at the deadline. Whether that be Edward Cabrera, Mitch Keller, or maybe even Seth Lugo, it's gotta be someone worth while. If they snag a rental, Manoah will be relied more heavily upon in 2026, so they absolutely have to get him back in Toronto pitching in some role.

Manoah has had some ace flashes in his career, but he is just too inconsistent to be relied upon in the stretch run this season, especially following surgery. These next few outings of his will be very intriguing to see if he can really help this team be even more competitive. We are definitely all rooting for him to come back, just not as the main guy in 2025.