Braves add former Cy Young finalist after dumping by Blue Jays originally appeared on The Sporting News

The Atlanta Braves are taking a chance on a player who was once uber-talented.

The Toronto Blue Jays cut bait earlier this week on Alek Manoah, a former Cy Young finalist. And on Friday, the Braves claimed him off waivers according to The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon.

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Manoah was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays to clear a spot on the 40-man roster as Anthony Santander returned from his lengthy injury absence.

It was a drastic fall for Manoah.

In 2022, he was a Cy Young finalist with a 2.24 ERA and 180 strikeouts in 196.2 innings.

But Manoah fell off in 2023 with a 5.87 ERA, and although he had a 3.70 ERA in five starts in 2024, he’s never really been the same pitcher.

In seven Triple-A starts this season, Manoah has a 2.97 ERA, but his Fielding Independent Pitching was a much worse 5.93.

His fastball velocity at Triple-A, per The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon, was just 91 miles per hour, which is 2.6 mph below his career average.

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Manoah simply had become a different pitcher than the one he was at his peak.

It’s not clear whether that better version of Manoah is in there somewhere to unlock.

But after a disappointing season, the Braves are willing to take the chance to see if they can find the old Manoah in there somewhere.

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