Insider: Several Teams Will "Definitely" Make Pitch For Blue Jays Pitcher in Offseason

While the Toronto Blue Jays continue their push toward a playoff spot, the starting rotation continues to excel. The comebacks this season of Jose Berrios, Yusei Kikuchi and now Hyun Jin Ryu have been very encouraging. But one starter who's been left out in the cold is 2022 All-Star Alek Manoah. 

The Cy Young Finalist has been a shell of himself all season, and was recently sent down to the minors for the second time. But that doesn't mean there won't be interest in him on the trade market. MLB Insider Jon Morosi told Sportsnet 590 Radio on Wednesday that teams will be making their pitch to steal Manoah from the Jays this winter.

That conversation will DEFINITELY happen. The Jays' phone is going to ring this offseason with people who want Alek Manoah. 

If you think about the shortage of starting pitching... teams that are just bereft of starting pitching right now and say, 'hey, he's better than our fifth starter, and for the opportunity to bring him in we'd be willing to give up this level prospect'.  

The need for starting pitching in the industry is great... The hubris of teams will never fail: 'We can fix him. We've got a better way of getting the most out of Manoah'... There will be a lot of GMs that believe that their process will be able to unlock the All-Star level pitcher that Alek Manoah was as recently as last season.

And Morosi believes that Toronto is going to have to listen to those offers.

"Looking at the Jays' lineup... they have to assume that the free agents (like Matt Chapman) aren't re-signing until they do. So is there a third baseman you can get for Manoah?... I think they have to find some ways to create and score runs that don't involve hoping Bo (Bichette) and Vlad (Guerrero) get a big hit every inning."

The Blue Jays continue to struggle to put up the offense expected of the team, but unfortunately, any trade help they might be looking at—for Manoah or anyone else—will have to wait until the offseason. 

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