No timetable for Manoah’s return to Blue Jays rotation

There is no set date for pitcher Alek Manoah’s return to the Toronto Blue Jays starting rotation.

Manoah was demoted to the rookie-level Florida Complex League on June 6 after a poor start to the regular season. He has made progress at the team’s training facility in Dunedin, Florida, but will not return until he is ready, Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Friday afternoon.

“There is no date,” Schneider told reporters when asked for an update on Manoah. “I think about watching and seeing how he reacts, how he does all those things with the batting, with the pitch, with the pitches per inning. There’s no real time frame.

“Again, the whole thing is to do what’s best for him. When that time is, when it will be.”

The 25-year-old right-hander was sent down after winning 1-7 with an average of 6.36 earned runs over 13 starts. Schneider said Manoah has been asked to focus on his pitch and throwing strikes.

Manoah was Toronto’s first pick in the 2019 amateur draft. He was selected 11th overall from West Virginia.

After going 9-2 with a 3.22 ERA over 20 starts as a rookie in 2021, the six-foot pitcher went 16-7 with a 2.24 ERA in 31 starts last year. He finished third in voting for the American League Cy Young Award.

In his final start for the Blue Jays on June 5, Manoah lasted a third of an inning against the Houston Astros. He was booed by home fans after giving up six runs and seven hits.

‘Many positive reactions’

Manoah threw five innings in a simulated game on Wednesday.

Schneider said Manoah will have another official bullpen session and get at least one minor league start, likely in one of the two Florida leagues, before returning to the Blue Jays rotation.

Given those requirements and with the fifth spot in Toronto’s rotation only coming once before the all-star break on July 11, Manoah is unlikely to return for the midsummer classic.

“It will really depend on how he is doing,” said Schneider. “We told him from the start that we know when you’re ready. You tell us when you’re ready.

“It’s not like someone circled a date on the calendar.”