The Mysterious Case of Alek Manoah Continues

Struggling Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah has had a strange, puzzling season. After finishing 3rd in Cy Young voting last year, he's been one of the worst pitchers in baseball all season, with a 5.87 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP. He's been sent down to the minors twice. 

But making things even stranger is what's happened since his last demotion on Aug 11th. 

And that is... nothing. 

Manoah still hasn't pulled on a Buffalo Bisons uniform in Triple-A. He hung out around the Jays for quite some time after the supposed demotion, and now, nearly a month after the assignment to AAA, he's been placed on the "temporarily inactive" list. 

Jays manager John Schneider has described it as “a natural build back up” after some time off with no set date as to when he might return to the mound. But why the time off has been the question.

This feels unprecedented…. What a bizarre situation

— omair rana (@omair_rana) September 1, 2023

Just recently, Jays beat writer Gregor Chisholm of the Toronto Star wrote that "the Blue Jays' story of Alek Manoah's medical tests doesn't pass the plausibility test."

"If the Blue Jays are to be believed, Manoah was held out of action for almost all of August to undergo a series of medical tests," wrote Chisholm. "What the club was supposedly looking for is not quite clear but the search came up empty." The beleaguered pitcher was then finally sent out to Buffalo over a week ago. 

But still no mound appearance is in the offing. And now the placement on the "temporarily inactive" list. 

The mysterious events around the 25-year-old continue, and the Blue Jays certainly aren't being very transparent about it all. 

Photo: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports