Orioles Nemesis Optioned to Rookie Ball...

[Billy F-Face3]

TOR just sent Alek Manoah all the way down to Rookie Ball. Baseball can be such a cruel game...

https://www.mlb.com/news/alek-manoah-optioned-to-florida-complex-league

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Blue Jays option Manoah to Rookie-level Complex League

 

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TORONTO – The Blue Jays just hit the reset button on Alek Manoah. 

 

The organization optioned its Opening Day starter to the Florida Complex League Tuesday, a day after he was rocked for six runs and recorded just one out against the Astros to balloon his ERA to 6.36.

 

It’s been a stunning two months for a pitcher who finished third in American League Cy Young Award voting just a season ago. Not only did Manoah look like a modern, front-line workhorse, he quickly emerged as one of the faces of the franchise, a cornerstone that rotations would be built around for years.

 

Instead, Manoah’s “early struggles” eventually became more serious, with his mental game and delivery caught in a fight that neither could win. Manoah was no longer attacking hitters with the aggressive approach that so perfectly matched his larger-than-life demeanor on the mound, and you quickly saw that the big right-hander is simply not built to be a pitcher who nibbles at the edges.

 

 

 

“It’s not a knee-jerk reaction,” said manager John Schnedier. “Like I’ve been saying all along, we want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to help him get better, and we feel like that’s the proper first, initial step.”

 

The Florida Complex League isn’t just a step, though. It’s a million miles away. 

 

Geography matters, and Manoah is essentially being sent back to where it all began in Spring Training. The Blue Jays’ sprawling, shiny new complex houses all of the technology and resources a struggling pitcher could dream of, which should allow Manoah to come along at his own pace. Besides, this process will command patience from both Manoah and the Blue Jays.

 

“Alek is a guy who, for as highly as we’ve spoken about him for a long time, we’re confident that when he is himself, he’s still going to be a huge part of what we’re trying to do,” Schneider said. “In that environment is the right place to start.”

 

In the early days of this, all the Blue Jays want to see from Manoah is a bullpen session. He’ll throw at the complex with dozens of eyes and cameras on him, but he won’t be put into games just yet. He’ll throw in Toronto’s new pitching lab, determine exactly what he and the Blue Jays need to focus on and go from there.

 

It’s easy to compare this to Roy Halladay, who was sent back to Single-A in 2001 to rebuild his delivery, but we’re looking at drastically different pitchers, people, struggles and resources. Frankly, some stories are rare for a reason, and both Manoah and the Blue Jays are entering some fairly uncharted territory in a sport that puts so much energy into avoiding those exact areas.

 

Schneider made another thing clear, too. Manoah is still part of this team, even if he’s in a different area code. This is not a case of “out of sight, out of mind”, and the team will actively work with Manoah throughout.

 

The organization plans to “get the ball rolling” by sending David Howell, its assistant pitching coach (strategy), down with Manoah. This group will also include remote help from Pete Walker and Jeff Ware with the potential of more hands-on involvement from Paul Quantrill, the 14-year MLB veteran who is back with the Blue Jays’ front office as a special assistant.

 

There’s a mental hurdle to clear, too, amid this mess of physical hurdles. Manoah’s struggles have never been clearer than in Toronto two starts ago, when he had to fight back his emotions.

 

"The mindset of 'Don't throw a ball here' instead of 'Throw a strike right here' is … it's a difference maker,” Manoah said. “Right now, I'm stuck in 'Don't throw a ball here.'"

 

This is so far from what anyone expected in 2023, but the Blue Jays are adjusting to the new reality on the fly. Bowden Francis has been recalled, representing a potential option to take Manoah’s place in the rotation, but Toronto’s pitching depth is not built to handle much more pressure than this. Until now, Toronto had been the only MLB club to use just five starters.

 

From here? All this has to do is work. It’s a tall order with no real blueprint and no real timeline.

 

“Whenever he’s ready is when he’s ready,” Schneider said. 

 

The time may come when, as with Halladay, this is just a fascinating note in a long, storied career. Manoah is certainly capable of making that happen. For now, though, it represents a full reset for both the Blue Jays and one of their biggest stars.

 

 

[Mr-splash]

 

[Can_of_corn]

Not Orioles Talk.

Not sure why you are making a big deal about rookie ball.  This isn't Billy Madison.  He's getting sent to their equivalent of Sarasota which is the same thing the Orioles would do in a similar situation.  I'd say it's a better sign than getting sent to Buffalo would be.

[Gurgi]

6 hours ago, Billy F-Face3 said:

TOR just sent Alek Manoah all the way down to Rookie Ball. Baseball can be such a cruel game...

https://www.mlb.com/news/alek-manoah-optioned-to-florida-complex-league

 

 

All those words and no mention is that Alex Manoah has eaten the person formally known as Alex Manoah.  

[Aristotelian]

Wow, that is stunning. Remember we got all upset when Chen was optioned to Fredericksburg for one start. 

[Sanfran327]

2 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

Wow, that is stunning. Remember we got all upset when Chen was optioned to Fredericksburg for one start. 

Have you ever sat in Fredericksburg traffic? It's the worst. I was angry FOR him.

[Moose Milligan]

6 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

Not Orioles Talk.

Not sure why you are making a big deal about rookie ball.  This isn't Billy Madison.  He's getting sent to their equivalent of Sarasota which is the same thing the Orioles would do in a similar situation.  I'd say it's a better sign than getting sent to Buffalo would be.

Can we just have this?

Oh, right.  You're the guy that doesn't like it when the rest of us like it when rivals players are doing bad.

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, Moose Milligan said:

Can we just have this?

Oh, right.  You're the guy that doesn't like it when the rest of us like it when rivals players are doing bad.

It is silly to say HE GOT SENT DOWN TO ROOKIE BALL LOL!!!!

This is the same sort of thing they did when they sent Halladay down twenty years ago.

I won't say I'm rooting for him to straighten himself out, since from all I've heard he's real hard to root for as a human being.

[Can_of_corn]

27 minutes ago, Sanfran327 said:

Have you ever sat in Fredericksburg traffic? It's the worst. I was angry FOR him.

I've had to drive out of DC on a Friday before.

 

[Aristotelian]

6 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

Not Orioles Talk.

Not sure why you are making a big deal about rookie ball.  This isn't Billy Madison.  He's getting sent to their equivalent of Sarasota which is the same thing the Orioles would do in a similar situation.  I'd say it's a better sign than getting sent to Buffalo would be.

When have the Orioles done that? We are not talking about a physical injury. Either way, not good optics for Manoah. 

[Can_of_corn]

5 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

When have the Orioles done that? We are not talking about a physical injury. Either way, not good optics for Manoah. 

Who said they have done it?

It was a hypothetical. 

He isn't getting sent to Rookie Ball as a punishment or because he can only get rookie ball hitters out.   Their Rookie ball team is the same as their Spring Training area (just like the O's) and since he isn't going on the IL this is how they can get him to that facility.

 

[Aristotelian]

Just now, Can_of_corn said:

Who said they have done it?

It was a hypothetical. 

He isn't getting sent to Rookie Ball as a punishment or because he can only get rookie ball hitters out.   Their Rookie ball team is the same as their Spring Training area (just like the O's) and since he isn't going on the IL this is how they can get him to that facility.

 

Whether it is punishment or a radical reset it is unusual. You didn't say the Os have done it but it is the same thing we would do in a similar situation. Have we never had a struggling veteran with an option? What is your evidence we would do the same thing if we have never done so?

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, Aristotelian said:

Whether it is punishment or a radical reset it is unusual. You didn't say the Os have done it but it is the same thing we would do in a similar situation. Have we never had a struggling veteran with an option? What is your evidence we would do the same thing if we have never done so?

You got me!

Maybe the O's would be stupid and not do it.

They are taking a player without an injury and sending him to the facility they have with all the experts and equipment to get rehabilitated players to the level they need to be to compete at the level their skill set indicates.

It's that simple.

 

[Moose Milligan]

53 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

It is silly to say HE GOT SENT DOWN TO ROOKIE BALL LOL!!!!

 

We are (mostly, I'm assuming) grown adults who **** around on a message board every day for our favorite baseball team.

Some of us sit around and pontificate on and on about hypothetical trades.  Some of us take pride in being able to analyze how much the Orioles revenue is and, in turn, how much they can realistically spend in free agency.  Some of us freak out when we trade a player and the return that we receive.  Others of us freak out on free agents we've signed.

This whole thing is absolutely silly.  If you can't grasp that, then we can't do business.  So yes, HE GOT SENT DOWN TO ROOKIE BALL LOL!!!!

[tntoriole]

I first thought of whether Grayson going to Sarasota would have been a helpful move or not ..