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The rust was apparent as the Jays’ former ace allowed four runs — three earned — on a hit and two walks across one-third of an inning. He threw 10 of his 22 pitches for strikes in the debut outing.

The pitching line doesn’t matter much to the Jays at this point. Instead, it’s the quality of his stuff that they will be monitoring closely and there were positives signs on that front. Manoah averaged 94.2 mph on his fastball, which was an increase from the 93.3 he averaged in 2024 prior to the injury.

“Just want to see him get out there, get hot, and go through his normal routine,” Jays manager John Schneider told reporters prior to the all-star break. ”(I) have no care whatsoever about results.”

Once pitchers begin a rehab assignment, they have 30 days to recover from injury. Once the clock expires, the club must decide on the next steps. For most pitchers that would involve being added to the 26-man active roster, but in Manoah’s case he has two options remaining on his contract, which means he could be kept in the minor leagues instead. The clock can also be reset in the event of a setback.

Manoah is expected to use all of those 30 days to get back into pitching shape. He has been throwing off a mound since March, but only with a limited number of pitches. That means he’s essentially starting his own personal spring training and will use the next four weeks to continue building up endurance and working on his overall effectiveness.

It’s not immediately clear what the Jays will do once Manoah is up to speed. Their rotation is currently full with Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, Max Scherzer and Eric Lauer. They are also expected to try to add another starter prior to the July 31 trade deadline.

At the very least, Manoah would give the Jays additional depth down the stretch. It’s also possible that if he looks good enough, he could supplant Lauer as a member of the starting five, especially if the Jays don’t add at the deadline. That decision won’t have to be made until mid-August.

Manoah’s signature season came in 2022 when he went 16-7 with a 2.24 ERA. During that same year, he was named to the all-star team and finished top three in voting for the American League Cy Young Award. The now 27-year-old faltered the following season with a 5.87 ERA and he made just five appearances in 2024 before going down with the elbow injury.