The Toronto Blue Jays have placed starting pitcher Alek Manoah on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow sprain, the team announced Friday.
Manoah had an MRI Thursday after leaving in the second inning of his last start against the Chicago White Sox because of right elbow discomfort. The 26-year-old threw a sinker and looked to be in discomfort, which led to him leaving the game in the second inning.
Toronto manager John Schneider told reporters before Friday’s game that the MRI revealed a UCL sprain, and Manoah is scheduled for an in-person evaluation with Texas-based orthopedic surgeon Dr. Keith Meister next Thursday.
The Blue Jays acquired right-hander Ryan Burr from the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday and added him to the roster in Manoah’s place. The team also designated righty Joel Kuhnel for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.
Manoah previously had a stint on the injured list after missing the start of the season because of shoulder inflammation.
“Felt it after my start in Detroit and tried to do everything I can with the training staff through the week,” Manoah said Wednesday night. “Threw (in the) bullpen a couple days ago, kind of felt fine. I felt like I was able to go out there and compete and give the team a chance, and just wasn’t able to.”
Manoah said he felt like he was “guarding it” heading into the second.
“It mostly bothers me when I extend,” he said, “so I think, mentally, when I told myself ‘Don’t think about it,’ I didn’t guard it and I kind of just got more extension than I was the previous pitches.
“Yeah, it kind of just felt really pinchy. At that point, like mentally, I was just like, ‘Do I keep grinding through this and maybe make it worse or just hand the ball to somebody else?’”
In five starts this season, Manoah is 1-2 with a 3.70 ERA as he tries to get back on track after a tough 2023 season.
Last year, he went 3-9 with a 5.87 ERA in 19 starts and was twice optioned to the minors. Manoah is looking to regain his form from 2022, when went 16-7 with a 2.24 ERA in 31 starts to finish third in AL Cy Young voting.
There was some better news for Blue Jays top prospect Ricky Tiedemann, who threw 20 pitches during live batting practice at Toronto’s player development complex in Dunedin on Friday. The next step for Tiedemann will be a rehab appearance in either the Florida Complex League or with Class-A Dunedin.
Tiedemann has been out since late April due to ulnar nerve inflammation in his pitching elbow. The left-hander had appeared in three games this season with triple-A Buffalo, posting a 5.63 ERA and 10 strikeouts in eight innings of work.