If Ryu Hyun-jin had not returned healthy, the Toronto Blue Jays would have been in big trouble. Opening day starting pitcher Alec Manoa (25) was out for the season in vain. After being demoted to Triple A, he did not throw a ball and only received treatment and examination.
Canada’s ‘Sportsnet’ reported the news of Manoa’s season out on the 22nd (Korean time). According to it, Manoa has received several injections to eliminate inflammation and discomfort in his right arm after receiving extensive treatment from medical professionals in recent weeks. According to the team’s doctors, no structural problems such as muscle damage or ligament rupture were found in Manoa’s right arm. However, Manoa continued to meet with additional outside experts to check for everything from elbow and shoulder problems to the possibility of thoracic outlet syndrome.
There is now less than a week left in the Triple-A season, and with various tests still in progress, Manoa has completely stopped pitching. Sportsnet said, ‘Manoa’s season, which started with hope, ended with an uncertain future. The best scenario is that Manoa returns healthy next spring and competes for a starting spot.’
Manoa, who finished third in the American League (AL) Cy Young Award last year in his second year, went 16-7 in 31 games (196 ⅔ innings) with an ERA of 2.24 and 180 strikeouts, started as a starting pitcher in this year’s opening game. Although he was treated as an ace, he performed badly in 19 games (87⅓ innings) with 3 wins, 9 losses, and an average ERA of 5.87. The number of walks per 9 innings jumped from 2.3 to 6.1, and his pitch control collapsed.
He was demoted to the Rookie League on June 7 and returned after a month of readjustment, but even after his return, he fell short of expectations with an ERA of 4.91 with 2 wins and 2 losses in 6 games. After Hyun-Jin Ryu, who returned to the big league 14 months after Tommy John surgery, successfully played two games on his return, Manoa was excluded from the starting lineup. As of the 12th of last month, he was demoted to Triple A.
Toronto hoped Manoa would continue pitching in Triple-A. We tried to prepare them as preliminary selection resources, but even this did not happen. Manoa wanted to undergo a medical test, and even after the injection treatment, several additional tests continued, so he was unable to pitch in Triple A. As this process continued without being placed on the injured list, rumors of discord between the club and the player arose.
On the 22nd, ‘Yahoo Sports’ in the US reported, ‘Manoa has not thrown a ball since being demoted to Triple A, so speculation has been rampant as to what is going on. “It seems that the relationship between the club and the player has not been good over the past few weeks,” he said. “Manoa suffered a huge loss financially because his salary in the minor league was lower than in the major league and he was unable to accumulate service time. ‘It seems he did not take the second minor relegation kindly,’ he explained.
Although it is nothing more than a ‘rumor’ as neither the club nor the player has revealed it on the surface, it has credibility. For Manoa, whose salary will increase only if he or she becomes ‘Super 2’ qualified, it is unfortunate that he was unable to obtain qualification due to two relegations this year. Super 2 qualification is a system that grants salary adjustment eligibility one year earlier to players in the top 22% of active roster registration days among players with at least 2 years but less than 3 years of full-time play in the major leagues. Unlike ordinary players, they are eligible for salary adjustment for four years before free agency.
Although Manoa’s season ended amid rumors of discord with the club, Toronto has five stable starters, including Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, Chris Bassett, Yusei Kikuchi, and Ryu Hyun-jin, who successfully returned from Tommy John surgery. Toronto, which rose to 12 wins and 7 losses (a winning percentage of .632) in September, is ranked 2nd in the AL Wild Card (85 wins and 68 losses), increasing the possibility of fall baseball. If Ryu Hyun-jin wasn’t there, Toronto would be dizzy. The Manoah problem must have been even more troublesome.
BY: 먹튀검증