A former All-Star has found a new home in hopes of resurrecting his big league career.
Right-handed pitcher Alek Manoah agreed to a one-year, $1.95 million contract to join the Angels, noti.group’s Jon Heyman confirmed.
Manoah was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays in late September and subsequently picked up by the Braves, but he ultimately did not pitch in the big league in 2025. He was non-tendered by Atlanta in November.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the news.
A first-round draft pick out of West Virginia in 2019, Manoah came through Toronto’s system as a top prospect and burst onto the scene in 2021 with a 3.22 ERA in 20 starts, finishing eighth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting.
Manoah’s 2022 was even better, as he held a 2.24 ERA with 180 strikeouts in 196 2/3 innings. He was named to the AL All-Star team — having a memorable mic’d-up moment on the Dodger Stadium mound — and finished third in the Cy Young race.
But that season proved to be a high point that he’s failed to reach since.
Manoah’s 2023 was filled with ugly numbers (5.87 ERA, 1.74 WHIP) and a trip to the rookie-level Florida Complex League, where he was shelled for 11 runs in a June start.
He did, however, look improved in 2024, but after just 24 1/3 innings, Manoah needed surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow, sidelining him from June through the start of 2025.
The 27-year-old returned this past July on a minor league rehab assignment and did hold a 2.97 ERA across seven Triple-A starts, but Toronto cut ties with him weeks before the big league club started its playoff run that led to its first World Series appearance in 32 years.
He joins the Angels, who had the third-worst team ERA and WHIP in 2025.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
