A's Next Big Waiver Wire Success Could be Former Blue Jays Ace
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On Tuesday, the Toronto Blue Jays announced that they had added outfielder Anthony Santander to their active roster, and to clear room for him on the 40-man roster, they designated right-hander Alek Manoah for assignment. He'd be a great piece for the A's to go out and claim this week, to bring him into the mix as a potential rotation piece next season.
Heck, they could even have him start later this week if they wanted.
Manoah was once viewed as the future ace of the Blue Jays' staff, and even finished third in the AL Cy Young voting back in 2022 as a 24-year-old. He held a 2.24 ERA (3.35 FIP) with a 0.992 WHIP across 196 2/3 innings in his first full season, and it appeared as though the sky would be the limit.
Unfortunately, things have not gone his way the past three seasons. He struggled through the 2023 campaign, holding a 5.87 ERA (6.01 FIP) with a 1.740 WHIP in 87 1/3 innings of work, then began the year in the minors last year, posting an 8.69 ERA in five starts.
He was called up to the big leagues at the beginning of May, making another five starts and holding a 3.70 ERA, but ended up needing Tommy John surgery last summer.
After missing a year, he returned to the mound this season around the All Star break, and made it up to Triple-A Buffalo on August 13. In seven starts with the Bisons, he held a solid 2.97 ERA with a 1.35 WHIP. That said, he also held a 5.93 FIP, was only striking out 20.4% of the hitters he faced, and was walking 12.2%.
Cause for Concern?
When he was up in the big leagues last season, he was averaging 93.3 mph with his fastball and 81 mph with the slider. Back when he finished third int he Cy Young voting, he averaged 93.9 and 81.1, so there had been some slight drop-off across those two years.
In looking at his game logs from this season, Manoah was averaging 90.9 with the fastball in his first start back, topping out at 92.1. That's a bit of a drop from where he was in May of last year. In his final outing on September 18, he averaged 90.5 mph and got up to 92.3, so there was some slight improvement, which is good.
In that final outing, he was also relying heavily on his changeup, which is interesting. He's always been a fastball/slider guy, and even was in that first start back he went sinker/slider, throwing just three changeups in 49 pitches. That final start he used 28 of them, good for 32% of his pitch mix.
The real test will be how his pitches looked and what kind of a timeline organizations feels he's on to get back to his old self, or if they feel he'll get back there at all. At this point, he seems like a good change of scenery candidate, and the green and gold could be a great opportunity for him.
A team like the A's could also be interested in him because of his exceptional extension, which ranked in the 89th percentile last season. That means that he releases the ball closer to home plate, which give the batter even less time to react. Jacob Lopez, who broke out this season for the A's, is also a top-tier extension guy, ranking in the 95th percentile.
The Drawbacks for the A's
There are two big drawbacks for the A's, and they both revolve around opportunity. The A's could use pitching depth heading into 2026, and adding someone that has displayed the ceiling of Manoah is certainly tantalizing. He also has options remaining, so they could give him time to continue to build up into the '26 season, or even help reinvent his approach a bit.
At the same time, the A's already have a starter returning from Tommy John in Ken Waldichuk, who has had similar velocity issues in his rehabilitation process. Would having two players with question marks surrounding them on the 40-man roster for the entire offseason be squeezing the roster too much?
That could be the risk that Toronto is taking here, hoping that there will be too many full rosters ahead of the offseason that teams won't be willing to add Manoah.
The A's are going to have to make some tough 40-man choices in the coming weeks, even without the addition of the former Blue Jays righty. At the same time, adding someone with the kind of potential that Manoah has is right up the A's alley.
The A's are also a club that will have postseason hopes next year. Being in postseason contention and in a new clubhouse could be what he needs to get back to the path he was on to begin his career. The question is whether the A's have the room for him.
Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.
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