Demoted all-star pitcher Manoah making gains in simulated games at Blue Jays complex

Alek Manoah, the struggling all-star right-hander demoted this month by the Toronto Blue Jays, has made some strides in two simulated games since being sent to the team's complex in Florida.

"Everything that we were talking about in terms of delivery and stuff was good, so making some strides in the right direction," manager John Schneider said Friday from Arlington, Texas, adding the team is "really just looking at anything that was glaringly different if at all this year compared to the last two years."

The sim game Thursday was the second for Manoah since the 25-year-old pitcher was demoted from the majors June 6 after going 1-7 with a 6.36 earned-run average in 13 starts.

Schneider expects him to throw at least one more sim game before getting into a game for one of the team's minor league's affiliates.

Manoah was Toronto's first-round pick in the 2019 amateur draft, when he was selected 11th overall out of West Virginia.

After going 9-2 with a 3.22 ERA while making his big league debut with 20 starts in 2021, the six-foot-six hurler went 16-7 with a 2.24 ERA in 31 starts last year and finished third in the American League Cy Young Award voting.

In his last start for the Blue Jays, Manoah didn't make it out of the first inning against Houston on June 5. He was booed by the home fans while allowing six runs and seven hits and getting only one out on 38 pitches.