Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports that the Jays have reinstated Alek Manoah off the 60-day IL and optioned him to AAA. To make room on the 40-man roster, Orelvis Martinez has been designated for assignment.
Manoah had hit the limit on his rehab assignment (for pitchers, 30 days), which required him to be added back to the 40-man roster. In five appearances with the Bisons, he’s posted a 3.09 ERA, but his 17% strikeout rate and 11% walk rate tell the more accurate story. He’s also just throwing 90-93 right now. All that goes to show that he’s just not 100% back yet, and so not ready to contribute to the major league roster in 2025. Presumably he’ll finish out the season in Buffalo and hopefully show up next spring with his build up completed and his stuff and command back to where they used to be.
It’s a shocking fall for Orelvis Martinez, a longtime mainstay of the Jays farm system who entered 2024 as a consensus top 100 prospect on the cusp of the majors. His season was mostly wiped out by a PED suspension, though, and after returning this season he’s hit just .176/.288/.348 in Buffalo. For a player who was already in the organizational doghouse, that’s just not good enough.