In order to make room for the return of Anthony Santander, the Toronto Blue Jays made a personnel decision nobody saw coming.

Alek Manoah, who at one point was the best starting pitcher in the Jays organization, was designated for assignment to create room on the 40-man roster. Manoah hasn’t pitched in the MLB since undergoing Tommy John surgery in June of 2024. He had been rehabbing in Triple-A Buffalo, where he had a 2.97 ERA through seven starts.

There were some concerns with Manoah’s rehab stint despite the solid ERA. He had walked 18 batters through 33.1 innings, and his velocity was down, as he averaged just 90.5 mph. Still, the decision to DFA the 2022 All Star caught many by surprise.

“These are always tough decisions,” GM Ross Atkins told reporters on Tuesday. “This just came down to a roster crunch, and us feeling like the best decision for us to hold depth and support for this staff as we push forward in very important weeks, we chose others over him obviously.”

All other teams across the MLB can now submit a claim for Manoah, who is under arbitration through 2027 and is currently under a one-year, $2.2 million deal. Should the 27-year-old remain unclaimed, he would be eligible for free agency.

“We wish him the best,” Atkins said. “We’re really impressed by his commitment, his desire and his effort.”

It’s rather hard to fathom how quick Manoah’s fall from grace was. Selected 11th overall by the Blue Jays in 2019, he burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2021 and posted a 3.22 ERA in 20 starts. He was even better in 2022, finishing third in AL Cy Young voting with a superb 2.22 ERA along with 180 strikeouts and a 16-7 record through 196.2 innings.

Things unravelled in 2023, and poor play, combined with injury, clearly had the Blue Jays brass hesitant about whether he could return to being the dominant pitcher he was well on his way to becoming. Overall, designating the big right-hander for assignment is a puzzling decision, but one that Atkins and the rest of his management team felt was best at this time.

You might also like:Blue Jays magic number: Toronto in danger of blowing division lead to New York Yankees