Zwelling: Alek Manoah To Begin Rehab Assignment Monday

[Matthew Lenz]

It's been over 15 months since Alek Manoah has pitched for the Toronto Blue Jays, but he is making small steps towards returning to the Rogers Centre mound.

Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet is reporting that former Cy Young Award finalist will begin a rehab assignment on Monday, July 14th with the Blue Jays FCL affiliate.

The timeline Zwelling notes in his tweet would see Manoah returning in the middle of August, at best. Roughly two weeks following Major League Baseball's trade deadline. While he'll be a welcome addition if he can make it back to the big-league pitching staff, it would be irresponsible for the Blue Jays front office to approach the deadline thinking they can rely on Manoah's return. Not only has it been over a year since he's pitched in a game, but it's been considerably longer since he has shown to be a productive pitcher.

How do you think Manoah's impending return will impact the Blue Jays trade deadline plans, if at all? Join the conversation in the comments!

 

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[John_Havok]

we discussed this yesterday in the General Blue Jays thread. You're late to the party

But, to answer the question you posed, no it wont alter the Jays trade deadline plans. The front office cannot count on Manoah contributing anything this season, so his rehab starting date is a non-factor. Should he eventually gear up for a starter's pitch count, him even getting back up to the big squad would likely necessitate an injury to a current starter, or him being used as a reliever, which ... just wouldn't make sense when they would want as many innings as he could deliver in the last month or so of the season for his own injury recovery. Chances are, that would occur in AAA until their season is over.