Blue Jays Rehabbing Former All-Star Has Tough First Outing with Triple-A Buffalo
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Just a few weeks ago, ahead of the MLB trade deadline, the Toronto Blue Jays were on the hunt for some starting pitching to upgrade their Major League rotation, coming away with former American League Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber.
He has been rehabbing, set to make another outing this week in what could be his last appearance in the minor leagues before the Blue Jays bring him up to the Big Leagues for the first time since 2024.
Manager John Schneider will have some difficult decisions to make because Toronto’s starting pitchers have been performing well recently. Things have settled down with Eric Lauer and Max Scherzer rounding out the rotation behind Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt and Kevin Gausman.
It will be interesting to see where Bieber fits into things, both in 2025 and 2026, since he possesses a player option for next year. While a lot of attention has been on him, he isn’t the only former All-Star currently rehabbing with Triple-A Buffalo.
Their rotation is currently home to Alek Manoah, a first-round pick of the Blue Jays in the 2019 MLB Draft who had a dynamic MLB debut in 2021 and reached incredible heights in 2022, making the AL All-Star Team.
Alek Manoah struggles in Triple-A rehab debut
Unfortunately, he hasn’t gotten close to that form since, struggling in 2023 and 2024, producing a combined -1.5 bWAR. He was starting to show some signs of turning things around last year, but he injured his elbow and had to undergo Tommy John surgery.
That rehab process is a lengthy one, but Manoah took a major step in the right direction on Wednesday when he took the mound for Triple-A Buffalo in his first rehab start at that level. Disappointingly, his performance was not there.
As shared by Keegan Matheson of MLB.com, his start lasted only 1.2 innings because his pitch count was starting to get high. Three runs were allowed, and he issued three walks, hitting as high as 92 mph on the radar gun.
Matheson noted that the results aren’t overly important for Manoah. At this point, the focus is on building him up to make a return to the Major Leagues in 2026, which he will continue doing at Triple-A over the next few weeks.
Alek Manaoh's first AAA rehab start lasted just 1.2 innings after his pitch count climbed quickly in the 2nd.
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) August 13, 2025
He allowed three runs, walked three batters and peaked at 92mph.
This is really about building for 2026 at this point, so Manoah will keep ramping up in AAA. #BlueJays
There are going to be openings in the rotation with Bassitt and Scherzer both hitting free agency, and potentially Bieber, depending on what he does with his option. Manoah has shown himself capable of producing at the highest level and will be given every opportunity to do so again next year.
