Fans watched in disbelief as the former Blue Jays All-Star suffered a fresh non-tender hit that underscored how far his career has spiraled.NL

It’s been a rough couple of years for Alek Manoah. In November of 2022 the Homstead, Florida native was coming off his sophomore season in which he was a Cy Young finalist, producing a 6.0 bWAR season for a Toronto Blue Jays team that had made the postseason.

Fast forward to November of 2025, and Manoah is no longer part of a major league team after he was not tendered a contract by the Atlanta Braves. How did it get to this point for Manoah? And will he have a chance to write a redemption story in 2026?

Ex-Blue Jays All-Star hurler’s downward spiral continues with latest non-tender

Manoah was, for a short time, one of the best draft success stories of the Ross Atkins regime as the Blue Jays General Manager. He was taken in the first round (No. 11 overall) in the 2019 draft, Atkins third year at the helm, and by May of 2021 he was making his debut in the majors.

The 6’6″ 285 lbs right hander shoved his way through his rookie season, producing a 2.9 bWAR with a 3.22 ERA, throwing 111.2 innings and striking out 127 batters with a 1.048 WHIP. Manoah was immediately part of the Blue Jays core that could win “now” and “in the future.” However, the Blue Jays came up just short of making the playoffs in 2021, but Manoah proved he wasn’t going to be a one-season wonder.

In his second season Manoah emerged as the ace of a pitching staff that included a 3.0 bWAR season from Kevin Gausman. He had an eye-popping 172 ERA+ and a ridiculous 0.992 WHIP, while also making the All-Star team for the first time. He was, by all accounts, one of the best pitchers in the American League that year, but lost out on the Cy Young award to Justin Verlander – not the first Blue Jays player to lose an award to that future Hall of Famer. Manoah also got the nod to start for the Blue Jays in Game One of their Wild Card series game against the Mariners.

However, that’s where the good times really came to an end for Manoah. He got the nod to start on Opening Day in 2023 for the Blue Jays and only lasted 3.1 innings, giving up five earned runs in an eventual 10-9 Blue Jays win over the Cardinals. That felt like a precursor to the rest of his season. He was walking hitters at a career high rate of 6.1 BB/9 and by the beginning of June his ERA sat at 6.36.

Manoah was optioned all the way down to the Blue Jays Single-A affiliate to try and work through the struggles. He made it back to the Blue Jays in July, but was sent back down to Triple-A in August. He spent the 2023 offseason trying to rediscover his form and in 2024 it looked like he was on the right track. He made his season debut on May 5, and gave up six earned runs in four innings, but his next three outings were much better.

He threw back-to-back seven inning outings, giving up no earned runs while striking out a combined 13 hitters and allowing a combined five hits. But by May 29, his season was over, after he was removed from that start after feeling discomfort in his throwing arm, and a few days later was placed on the IL with a right elbow strain. Manoah hasn’t pitched in the majors since.

His comeback attempt from the injury also looked like it was heading in the right direction, Manoah pitched in seven games with Triple-A Buffalo to a 2.97 ERA. He had an 8.15 K/9 rate but a walk rate of 5.35. Within those seven starts, he was keeping hitters off balance as they managed just a .214 batting average against and there were signs that he could potentially be a September call up for Toronto.

And maybe, if the Blue Jays weren’t in a position to win their division, Manoah would have gotten that chance to show he could still pitch in the majors. But the Blue Jays loaded up their pitching staff at the deadline by getting Shane Bieber, while also calling up young phenom Trey Yesavage, leaving no room on the roster for Manoah.

He was DFA’d in a move that shocked most of the fan base and subsequently picked up by the Atlanta Braves. But before Manoah could ever throw a pitch with Atlanta, the Braves brass determined there was no room on the roster for him either and he was non-tendered on Friday (Nov. 21) making him a free agent ahead of 2026.

Manoah could end up being a really good addition to a team that doesn’t have a full five-man rotation set, with plenty of question marks at the back end. For a big power arm and huge strikeout potential, getting Manoah for approximately $2 million (as projected by MLB Trade Rumors arbitration numbers), could be a steal. Maybe even a reunion with the Blue Jays is in the cards? But for a guy that had Cy Young potential just three years ago, it’s been a hard few years for Manoah, whose future is completely uncertain