Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Alek Manoah is expected to miss an "extended period of time" because of an elbow injury, according to TSN's Scott Mitchell. Manoah, who underwent an MRI on Thursday after leaving his start against the Chicago White Sox in the second inning, is seeking a second opinion.
Manoah, 26, finished third in the American League Cy Young Award voting in 2022. He's since encountered his share of disappointment and physical maladies. Last season, he amassed a 5.87 ERA (72 ERA+) across 19 appearances. The Blue Jays, at one point, demoted him to the minors so he could work on his craft away from the big-league spotlight. His season then ended prematurely for reasons that neither he nor the Blue Jays ever truly explained.
Whatever Manoah did over the offseason seemed to help. He had fared better this season after missing the start of the campaign because of shoulder inflammation: in five starts, he had posted a 106 ERA+ and a 3.25 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Alas, Manoah revealed after his departure from Thursday's game that he had been dealing with an elbow issue for about a week.
"It mostly bothers me when I extend," Manoah told reporters, including the Associated Press, "so I think mentally when I told myself don't think about it, I didn't guard it and I kind of just got more extension than I was the previous pitches."
It's worth noting that Manoah had seen his velocity decline in each of his starts. His sinker checked in 0.7 mph slower against the White Sox than it had against the Tigers; his four-seamer, meanwhile, was down 0.5 mph. Both were down at least 2 mph from his first start this season.
The Blue Jays have not announced who will replace Manoah in the rotation. Two obvious candidates, Bowden Francis and Yariel Rodríguez, are also on the IL.
