What Role Do Blue Jays Have Planned for Pitcher Rehabbing in Triple-A?
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The Toronto Blue Jays have had some difficult decisions to make recently with injured players returning to the big league roster.
Easily the toughest one for manager John Schneider was what to do with the pitching staff. Shane Bieber finished his rehab and made his highly-anticipated debut with the team last Friday. It went about as well as anyone could have hoped with the former American League Cy Young Award winner throwing six innings, allowing only two hits and one earned run with nine strikeouts and zero walks.
He is going to be a part of the rotation from here on out, but there were questions about how things would be put together. With no clear-cut option to remove from the mix, the Blue Jays opted to move Eric Lauer to the bullpen for one turn through the rotation. He is now back in the mix, with a six-man rotation being used this time through.
It will be interesting to see how Schneider navigates this. Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt, Kevin Gausman and Max Scherzer look locked into spots. Lauer has performed well enough to remain in the rotation, too. But a cutdown makes sense so that the bullpen isn’t operating at a deficit since a five- or six-man rotation won't be used in the postseason.
Will Alek Manoah Join Big League Roster In 2025?
With so many starting pitching options already available, where does that leave Alek Manoah? Currently rehabbing with Triple-A Buffalo, he is coming off a very strong outing. On Tuesday night, he threw 5.1 innings, allowing three runs -- none of which were earned -- while striking out five.
It was exactly what the team was hoping to see, with Schneider saying via Mitch Bannon of The Athletic (subscription required), “That’s kind of what we’re looking for. Just continue to build. In the zone, pitch count, all that kind of stuff.”
A role change could be on the horizon for Manoah once he is healthy since he is blocked from joining the Toronto rotation right now given the current logjam. Being deployed as a multi-inning reliever is certainly a possibility, but it isn’t what the team is focused on right now. Their main goal is getting him back on track with his rehab while lengthening him out.
“I don’t really expect it to change,” Schneider said. “We want to keep him as a starter and keep him stretched out as a starter. That’s kind of what we view him as.”
Here's Alek Manoah's strikeout thread in his third Buffalo Bisons rehab start!
— Ryley Delaney🏳️⚧️ (@Ryley__Delaney) August 26, 2025
93 mph fastball for the swinging strike. pic.twitter.com/zL4plCx52F
Just as the decision was tough with the Major League rotation, another difficult one lies ahead with Manoah. His rehab assignment can be extended two more times before the Blue Jays would have to use one of his two remaining options. Burning an option for what could be only a few days of the season remaining would be a worst-case scenario.
With rosters set to expand to 28 on Sept. 1, that could be when Manoah is brought back to the mix. However, if they remain persistent on him remaining a starting pitcher and not yo-yoing between the rotation and bullpen, an option might have to be burned.
Using a roster spot on a seventh starting pitcher when only five are needed would be poor construction, so there's a chane that Manoah could remain in the minors for the rest of the year.
