Breaking: Former Blue Jays Star Alek Manoah Claimed Off Waivers by NL Team
In a move that probably shouldn't surprise Toronto Blue Jays fans too much, their former GM Alex Anthopoulos has claimed Alek Manoah off waivers for the Atlanta Braves.
ROSTER MOVE:
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) September 26, 2025
🔹RHP Alek Manoah has been claimed off waivers by the Braves pic.twitter.com/WV30aUiXwT
Anthopoulos loves a good reclamation project, and he'll get one in Manoah. But even better, he'd love to stick it to the Toronto organization and management team of Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins, who unceremoniously forced him out of town 10 years ago after AA had masterfully orchestrated the last truly great Blue Jays season.
Manoah was an All-Star and a finalist for the Cy Young Award in 2022, before completely losing it in 2023 and 2024. He was DFA'd by the Jays earlier this week.
The 27-year-old was Toronto's first-round pick (11th overall) in the 2019 MLB Draft. He immediately soared into the Top 5 of the Blue Jays prospects list in 2020, and after just three dominant starts for Triple-A Buffalo in 2021, he was quickly called up to The Show, where he continued to dominate.
Manoah posted a 3.22 ERA in 20 starts in 2021 for Toronto with a 127:40 strikeout to walk ratio. In 2022, he exploded onto the national baseball scene with a 16-7 record, a 2.24 ERA and 0.99 WHIP for the Blue Jays. He finished 3rd in Cy Young balloting.
But 2023 was a disaster, beginning with his Opening Day start in which he surrendered nine hits and five earned runs in 3.1 innings. He finished the year with a 5.87 ERA in 19 starts. At one point, he was sent to the minors, where he surrendered 10 hits and 11 runs in just 2.2 innings in a Rookie League start.
In 2024, the mystery continued, as Manoah put up dreadful numbers once again in several minor league starts. He did manage to make five starts with the Jays in May of last year, getting shelled in two of them but ultimately posting a 3.70 ERA before season-ending elbow surgery put him back on the shelf.
This year, Manoah posted a 3.96 ERA across four minor league levels but control issues limited his overall effectiveness.
He'll now get a chance to work with the Braves' development team to try to rescue his career.
Photo: © Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
