Toronto Blue Jays: Manoah moment almost changed MLB trade deadline

It was a scary moment for the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night when starting pitcher Alek Manoah was hit in the pitching arm by a comebacker off the bat of Detroit Tigers infielder Jonathan Schoop. While the reports came back positive for Manoah, the Blue Jays were left wondering for a worrisome few minutes about how serious the injury might be and how it could impact their plans at the MLB trade deadline.

Severity of Alek Manoah elbow injury could have impacted plans for Toronto Blue Jays at MLB trade deadline

You can see the comebacker ricochet off Manoah’s elbow below.

According to a tweet from Kaitlyn McGrath, who covers the Toronto Blue Jays for The Athletic, it seemed to be a best-case scenario for Toronto after looking as if could have been much worse.

The ball hit Manoah on his elbow after taking one bounce on the Rogers Centre turf. It didn’t take long for Manoah to show he was in pain, hopping off the mound and then going down in a crouch position as the play continued to develop.

Before the play, Manoah had surrendered seven hits and four runs over 5.1 innings of work. Manoah’s ERA for the month now stands at 2.77 after five starts and 2.43 for the year in 20 starts.

It’s already established that the Blue Jays could be a potential fit for Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jose Quintana. While Manoah has had an All-Star season, Toronto’s starters have combined for a minus-0.2 bWAR this season heading into Manoah’s Friday start. That number is 20th among MLB rotations, trailing MLB-leading Los Angeles (NL) by a wide margin, with the Dodgers registered 5.8 bWAR as a unit this season on the mound.

With the news that Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Luis Castillo was acquired by the Seattle Mariners on Friday night, Manoah’s health is even more important as the Blue Jays decide what direction they will take to improve the team at the trade deadline … and premium starting pitchers start to come off the trade board.

The Toronto Blue Jays seemed to have dodged a potential nightmare scenario on Friday night with Alex Manoah, one that could have certainly ramped up the need for Toronto to acquire a starting pitcher.