Blue Jays mailbag: When Alek Manoah could join the big-league rotation is a hot topic for readers

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/05/2021 (1647 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For the last couple of years, the bulk of the weekly mailbag centred on the promising core of position players emerging from the Blue Jays’ minor-league system. These days, all anyone wants to talk about are the young pitchers.

The timing of Alek Manoah’s arrival, the development of Simeon Woods Richardson and the early struggles of top prospect Nate Pearson were the hot topics this week. The focus is understandable considering the everyday lineup appears mostly set while the rotation has struggled, and the Blue Jays have used more starters (12) than any other team in the American League.

The Blue Jays have done well to hang around while dealing with so many injuries, but they are going to need improved performance from their starting five to live up to those lofty expectations. A couple of these young prospects could provide the solution, or at the very least buy the organization more time to find upgrades elsewhere.

As a friendly reminder, questions for the weekly mailbag should be submitted to bluejaysmailbag@gmail.com or by reaching out to me on Twitter @GregorChisholm. Please make sure to include your first name and hometown.

With that out of the way, let’s get to this week’s questions. The following submissions have been edited for length and grammar:

How close are we to seeing Alek Manoah or Simeon Woods Richardson up to help the Jays rotation?

— Jemel, Wayne, N.J.

Based on the minor-league assignments, it seems like a given that Manoah will get the first shot while Woods Richardson should pass through the Bisons organization before he’s considered for The Show. The specific date of Manoah’s arrival depends on two things: Injuries at the major-league level and his performance at Triple-A.

Manoah is the probable starter for Buffalo’s game against Rochester on Wednesday night. If the 23-year-old has another outing or two like he did in his season debut, the Jays will have to think long and hard about a promotion. If the upcoming starts don’t go as well, he’ll likely stick around the Bisons for a little while longer to continue his development.

With Ross Stripling and his 6.61 ERA struggling to pitch deep into games, there’s an obvious path to a starting job. The two pitchers are on similar schedules and the Jays could make this swap without disrupting routines. If I were to guess, I’d say early June for Manoah, but if this weird season has taught us anything it’s not to make projections too far into the future. Another injury could press Manoah into action at any time and another dominating performance or two for Buffalo could do the same.

I read your answer to the Manoah question (April 20) and gave it some thought. Sorry, but I cannot agree with your answer. I did not see where the questioner suggested he might be the saviour of the Jays. I am not suggesting that. Those are your words … Since you wrote that, he had his first start in Triple-A. He struck out 12 in six innings, pitching two-hit, no-run baseball. I say he may not be as good as he might get, but he is clearly ready. What are the Jays waiting for — until he’s 25 and has some of his best baseball behind him?

— Jim

There are some fair points in here and if I’m going to dish out the criticism, then I need to be able to take it as well. The headline of that mailbag was “Fans really need to stop treating Manoah as if he’s the saviour.” As mentioned in that piece, the saviour comment wasn’t meant to be specific to the questioner but instead summarizing the slew of tweets and emails I received questioning why Manoah didn’t make the team out of spring training.

Here’s the thing, though. That mailbag was three weeks ago, and while that might not seem like a long time, a lot has changed since then. Even more has changed since camp wrapped up in March. My biggest concern with Manoah centred on workload. This is a guy who has never thrown more than 125 1/3 innings in one season and if he began the year as a starter, he would have been shutdown by August or early September. By keeping him at the alternate training site, the Jays shaved off five starts and upwards of 30-35 innings. Yes, he was still pitching, so the arm got some mileage, but the wear and tear isn’t the same in a controlled, non-pressure setting like that, compared to the big leagues.

One sentence I regret from that previous mailbag was using the term “second half” to describe when Manoah should be ready, because it could, and likely should, be a lot sooner than that. As mentioned above, if Manoah keeps pitching like he did in his Triple-A debut, a promotion should be right around the corner. I’ll eat some crow for the poor phrasing, but I haven’t questioned the talent or the arm. Manoah could become an impact pitcher, especially if he develops a reliable third pitch.

Has having a character named Gregor on “What We Do in the Shadows” made you feel ‘seen’ with your friends and loved ones? Also, given the Alejandro Kirk injury and Danny Jansen’s struggles, what’s Gabby Moreno’s timeline?

— Dan, Etobicoke

I consider myself a TV buff, but this is one show that I haven’t gotten around to. The whole vampire thing just doesn’t do it for me, I blame the Twilight fad. So, this character is news to me, but I used to get a lot of comments about Sir Gregor from “Game of Thrones.” The bigger issue is that whenever I come across a fictional Gregor, they pronounce it Greg-OR instead of Greg-er, which has been one of my pet peeves since childhood.

Anyways, onto more important things. Moreno’s timeline shouldn’t be impacted by Jansen’s struggles or Kirk’s injury. There’s enough catching depth that the Blue Jays can afford to remain patient with another one of their top prospects. They are fine enough with the strong defence and if an upgrade is required it’s more likely to come from outside the organization. I still wouldn’t expect Moreno to factor in until some time in 2022. If a prospect is required before then, it would likely be Riley Adams before Moreno.

What starting options are on the market that can save this bullpen? Maybe someone who can go six innings.

— Chad, Oakland, N.B.

Trying to predict who is going to be available around the trade deadline is a pointless exercise this far in advance because we still don’t know which team will be sellers.

The Minnesota Twins viewed themselves as contenders entering the year, but they are off to a terrible start at 12-20. If they continue to fall out of the race, guys like Kenta Maeda, Michael Pineda, Matt Shoemaker and J.A. Happ should become available but Minnesota isn’t going to rush into anything considering the expectations they had and the possibility that the season could be turned around.

It’s the opposite in a place like Houston, where the Astros are hanging tough. If they go into a slump, Zack Greinke could be made available but any speculation there is premature because his team currently sits second in the AL West. Clubs typically don’t start considering tearing everything down until at least mid-June so there’s quite a bit of time before we will know much of anything here. At this point, trade targets are just wild guesses.

Also, there’s an Oakland in New Brunswick? As someone who is born and raised in the province, I’m ashamed to admit I never knew that. Hopefully, it’s nicer than The Coliseum.

Does the man-on-second rule preclude a perfect game extending beyond nine innings?

— Peter

Auto runners do not count against a perfect game or no-hitter. Major League Baseball made that clarification early last season and stated the record holds because the runner didn’t reach base via a walk, hit, error or even a wild pitch. That means someone can toss a perfect game and still lose, which wasn’t possible under the old system. All it would take is for the auto runner at second to advance to third and later score on a sacrifice fly. This is different than no-hitters or perfect games thrown in seven-inning doubleheaders, which will do not count as official records.

Seeing how many of the Blue Jays have come down with injuries don’t you think it time for the management to offer an apology to Nikki Huffman who they threw under the bus for the 2019 season injuries? Seems Marcus Stroman is the only one who knew it wasn’t her fault.

— Adam

Apologize to her for what? Huffman resigned from her position, she wasn’t fired, and I’ve never heard or seen anyone from the front office insinuate — publicly or privately — she was responsible for the injuries. The reality of the Huffman situation is that she was very close to Stroman. Their connection went back to Duke University and he helped get her foot in the door with the Jays. That seems harmless enough until other players start to believe — true or not — that Stroman was getting preferential treatment because of it.

The optics didn’t improve when Stroman announced shortly after her departure that Huffman was becoming his personal trainer. I won’t pretend to know whether she was good at her job or not, but it seems like a no-brainer to me that the highest-ranking member of the medical staff inside the clubhouse should not be closely affiliated to one player or coach.

Hi Gregor – apologies in advance for what might well be the “get a life” question to end all “get a life” questions, but do you know why the Jays home games have historically started at increments of seven? First pitch scheduled for 7:07 p.m., 1:07 p.m. or 4:07 p.m. Most teams, tend to go with a more straightforward 1:05 p.m., etc., first pitch.

— David

Seriously? Of all the things you could ask, this is what you went with? You really do need to get a life. Just kidding, I’ve been asked much worse. It’s a quirky question and I like that. It’s also one that has an easy answer. The Blue Jays start their games two minutes later to provide enough time for the American and Canadian national anthems. Unlike a lot of other sports, baseball posts its actual start time. It’s not like basketball where they say 7:30 and begin a few minutes later. In baseball, 7:07 means 7:07 and as the lone Canadian team, the Blue Jays need a smidge more time before games than other organizations. Teams are free to start games whenever they want, it wasn’t that long ago the White Sox cut a sponsorship deal with 7-Eleven to have their games start at 7:11 local time.

Hey Gregor, do you know if Ross Atkins and the analytics department set the lineup each night or is it Charlie Montoyo and the coaching staff?

— @will_belyea

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I’m not sure if this question is dripping in sarcasm or not. Montoyo is the one responsible for the lineup and Atkins typically goes out of his way to say those decisions are made at field level. But we also know the organization takes a collaborative approach and if top-ranking executives feel a certain way, it’s logical to assume Montoyo won’t put up much of a fight. The high-performance department typically dictates when players need rest and opinions on specific matchups extend beyond the coaching staff. The front office helps present the data and everyone goes from there.

The bullpen has done a fantastic job with the rotation being as rocky as it has been. Should acquiring a big arm for the back end of that bullpen be the priority for Atkins?

— James, Mitchell, Ont.

The bullpen is one of the easiest spots to upgrade mid-season so yes, I expect the Blue Jays will do something, but it wouldn’t be my top priority. Another potential frontline starter is a much bigger need and it’s possible that by the time July rolls around the team will decide it needs to do something about the defence at third and the lack of production behind the plate. The bullpen is further down the list for me, but most relievers sign short-term deals, which makes them ideal trade chips. The Blue Jays don’t need a closer, but additional depth is never a bad thing.

Gregor Chisholm is a Toronto-based baseball columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @GregorChisholm or reach him via email: gchisholm@thestar.ca