The Jays had to demote Alek Manoah. The next step is up to him

Teams always want young players to face adversity on their way to the major leagues.

It’s not that anyone has a desire to see prospects fail, but how they bounce back after going through a difficult time is telling. Some guys are exposed for not having enough skill, or being ill-equipped to handle the pressure of professional sports. Others adjust and get back on track.

Alek Manoah never had that luxury.

In 2020, his first season in the minors was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to an extended stay at the Blue Jays’ development complex. By the next year, he was advanced enough to break into the big leagues before the end of May.

That meant Manoah burst onto the scene with just 35 innings on his minor-league resumé. Most pitchers wouldn’t have been able to handle such a quick transition, but the 2019 first-round draft pick appeared to be a different breed. He instantly became a key cog in the Jays rotation, and a year later he was an all-star and eventual candidate for the Cy Young Award.

After such a successful ride, more of the same was expected this season. The Jays made Manoah their opening-day starter and assumed he would be in line for another big year. Instead, he sputtered out of the gate and got even worse as the year progressed.

The Jays tried to wait as long as they could for Manoah to turn things around, but that patience finally wore out Tuesday when the 25-year-old was optioned to the Florida Complex League.

For the first time in his career, Manoah must overcome failure. How he responds in the coming weeks and months will determine how quickly his career gets back on track.

This wasn’t the news the Jays wanted to deliver or Manoah wanted to hear, but the organization was left with no other choice after their ace allowed six runs on seven hits and a walk while retiring just one batter in a lopsided loss to the Houston Astros on Monday. He departed with a 6.36 ERA, which would be fourth-worst in the majors if he had enough innings to qualify.

“It’s tough,” said Jays manager John Schneider, who broke the news to Manoah alongside pitching coach Pete Walker. “People forget Alek threw 30-something innings in the minors, was thrust into the big leagues and performed at an elite level for a long time. Going through it for the first time, it’s tough because of his own expectations and his own desire to help his team win.”

Manoah’s trip to Florida is reminiscent of how the Jays handled franchise icon Roy Halladay more than two decades ago. In 2001, after having spent parts of two seasons in the majors, Halladay was optioned to Class-A Dunedin at the start of the season to overhaul his mechanics.

The year prior, Halladay’s 10.64 ERA set a record for the highest by a pitcher with at least 40 innings. By the time he returned, he had been completely transformed. Halladay finished 2001 with a 3.16 ERA, and the following year he went 19-7 with a 2.93 ERA while leading the majors with 239 1/3 innings.

The Jays have yet to reveal exactly what they want Manoah to work on in Florida, but he’ll almost certainly have to make changes to his delivery. He experienced a mysterious drop in velocity this season and lost a lot of vertical break on his slider. The Jays intend on getting him into the pitching lab at their development complex to get to the root of his issues.

“Upset, because of the competitor that he is ... so it wasn’t an easy conversation,” Schneider said when asked about Manoah’s reaction. “He understands that the performance hasn’t really been there, and he just wants to help the team be in a position to win. He took it about as good as he could take it.”

The Jays have at least temporarily handed Manoah’s roster spot to righty Bowden Francis, who had a 3.45 ERA in four starts for Triple-A Buffalo. Francis was far less effective last year with a 6.59 ERA at the same level, but the club has been using him in shorter stints to better results.

Francis likely doesn’t have enough endurance to assume a full-time starter’s workload. He’ll be used in three- or four-inning stints, either as a member of the rotation or as a bulk guy out of the bullpen. With three off-days this month, the Jays also have the option of going with four primary starters while occasionally mixing in the No. 5 spot.

“We’ve been through this before,” Schneider said of being short-staffed. “I think we did it the last month of last year. You can get creative. You have guys that can throw multiple innings and you have to just really count on some guys to step up, whether it’s Bowden in that spot for a couple innings or whether it’s bullpen guys or someone who’s not here, I don’t know. But I think that we’re well equipped enough to handle that right now.”

That might work in the short term, but if another starter struggles — or worse, gets hurt — this team could be in a world of trouble because of a lack of organizational depth.

That’s a problem for another day. For now, the Jays are focused on the person first and the pitcher second as they give Manoah ample time to work through his issues. He remains a vital piece of their future and the Jays will need him to live up to their lofty expectations.

The top priority is getting Manoah back to being himself, both mentally and physically. How long that will take is anyone’s guess, but he’s not the first to go through this type of setback and he certainly won’t be the last.

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