Blue Jays send struggling Manoah down to minors

Four baseball gloves rested on the top shelf of Alek Manoah’s clubhouse locker at Rogers Centre on Tuesday afternoon, his garments on a rack below with his black chair in its usual position nearby.

The only things missing were the baby blue jersey and matching ballcap that were hanging at each of his teammates’ stalls ahead of Toronto’s night game against Houston.

The Blue Jays sent Manoah down to the minor leagues earlier in the day. It was unclear when he’ll be back.

The right-hander was optioned to the rookie-level Florida Complex League after another poor start a night earlier.

“It’s not a knee-jerk reaction,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “Like I’ve been saying all along, we want to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to help him get better.

“We feel like that’s the proper, first initial step.”

Manoah’s latest start was the shortest outing of his young career. He was shelled for six earned runs over one-third of an inning in an 11-4 loss to the Astros.

The six-foot-six 285-pounder hasn’t won a game in over two months and his confidence appears shot. The Blue Jays have lost nine of the last 10 games that Manoah has started.

Schneider and pitching coach Pete Walker gave him the news early Tuesday afternoon.

“It wasn’t an easy conversation,” Schneider said. “He understands that the performance hasn’t really been there and he just really wants to help the team be in a position to win.

“So he took it about as good as he can take it.”

This is new territory for the Opening Day starter, an American League Cy Young Award finalist last year but just 1-7 with an eyebrow-raising earnedrun average of 6.36 this season.

The all-star form he displayed in 2022 has been replaced by inconsistency and a lack of control. Manoah leads the major leagues with 42 walks over his 13 starts.