Alek Manoah’s attempt to revive his major league career with the Los Angeles Angels has hit another troubling setback.
The former Toronto Blue Jays All-Star endured a difficult spring training outing this week, raising fresh concerns about his chances of earning a spot in the Angels’ starting rotation. Facing the West Sacramento Athletics, Manoah lasted just 2 1/3 innings and allowed five earned runs on three hits while issuing five walks.
The performance wasn’t simply a matter of bad luck.
For Manoah, the underlying issues that derailed his career in recent years appear to be resurfacing.
Command remains the biggest concern
Early in camp, there were reasons for cautious optimism.
Manoah’s fastball velocity initially looked promising, reaching the upper 90s — a positive sign for a pitcher still working his way back from Tommy John surgery.
But velocity alone hasn’t solved the larger problem.
The pitch has lacked movement and command, and Manoah has continued to struggle to consistently locate any of his offerings. Analysts tracking his spring outings have noted that his arsenal looks largely unchanged from previous seasons, while his inability to find the strike zone remains a major issue.
Through 7 1/3 innings this spring, Manoah has posted a 6.14 ERA with a 2.05 WHIP and just four strikeouts — numbers that highlight the control problems more than anything else.
Rotation spots already filling up
The Angels entered spring training with several rotation spots effectively spoken for.
Yusei Kikuchi, José Soriano, Reid Detmers, and Eduardo Rodríguez are all widely viewed as near-locks to open the season in the starting rotation. That leaves limited opportunities for pitchers battling for the final spot.
So far, Manoah hasn’t done enough to separate himself from the competition.
Los Angeles signed the 28-year-old right-hander to a one-year, $1.95 million deal this offseason, giving him a fresh opportunity to rebuild his career after a turbulent end to his tenure in Toronto.
But as camp progresses, his chances of securing a rotation role appear increasingly uncertain.
A long road since his Blue Jays breakout
Not long ago, Manoah looked like a cornerstone of the Blue Jays’ pitching staff.
The first-round pick burst onto the scene in 2021 and quickly established himself as one of the American League’s most promising young pitchers. At the time, many believed he would anchor Toronto’s rotation for years to come.
Things began to unravel during the 2023 season.
Manoah struggled badly that year, posting a 5.87 ERA across 19 starts. His command deteriorated dramatically, as his walk rate climbed to 6.1 per nine innings while opponents consistently made hard contact.
The Blue Jays eventually sent him all the way down to Single-A in an effort to help him regain control of his mechanics and confidence.
There were signs of improvement when he returned to the majors in 2024. In a small five-game sample, his walk rate dropped to 3.0 per nine innings while his hit rate improved significantly. Opponents managed just a .189/.282/.378 slash line against him, and his hard-hit rate also declined.
But that brief rebound ended abruptly.
Manoah landed on the injured list and eventually underwent Tommy John surgery, sidelining him for an extended stretch and halting any momentum he had begun to rebuild.
A fresh start that hasn’t taken hold
Toronto ultimately moved on from Manoah around the 2025 trade deadline in order to clear space on the 40-man roster for the returning Anthony Santander.
That decision effectively closed the chapter on a once-promising partnership between the pitcher and the Blue Jays organization.
Now with the Angels, Manoah is attempting to prove he can still contribute at the major league level.
So far this spring, however, the same command issues that once plagued him in Toronto continue to stand in the way.
And unless those problems begin to improve soon, Manoah’s path back to a stable role in a big-league rotation could become even more difficult.
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