Braves taking shot on Alek Manoah after Blue Jays exit

Alek Manoah is getting another shot in the majors.

After being designated for assignment by the Blue Jays earlier this week, Manoah was claimed off waivers by the Braves on Friday.

Manoah, 27, is clinging to his big league career just three years after he was named an All-Star and nearly won the American League Cy Young award. 

The right-hander finished third in the Cy Young voting in 2022 after going 16-7 with a 2.24 ERA. 

A year earlier, Manoah posted a 3.22 ERA across 20 starts during his rookie season. 

But nothing has gone right for him since that two-year stretch. 

Manoah was the Blue Jays’ Opening Day starter in 2023, but was demoted to the Florida Complex League in June after he posted a 6.36 ERA.

In 2024, Manoah had a 3.70 ERA across 24 ⅓ innings before he underwent season-ending elbow surgery.

Manoah pitched well while rehabbing his elbow with Triple-A Buffalo this season, putting up a 2.97 ERA in seven starts for the Bisons before his release. 

“I’m just working every day to be able to get back into that everyday grind with the guys,” Manoah said in May, via The Athletic. “I’m obviously shooting for what we’re all shooting for here at the end. So that’s obviously the hardest part, but also going to be the most gratifying.”

The Braves, apparently, saw a way to revive Manoah’s career that the Blue Jays didn’t.

“These are always tough decisions,” Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said of letting go of Manoah. “This just came down to a roster crunch and us feeling like [it was] the best decision for us to hold depth, and support this staff as we push forward into very important weeks.

“We chose others over him, obviously, so this was a very tough, very difficult decision. They always are.”