Alek Manoah Has Earned More Than a Spring Training Death Sentence
Right on cue, HaloHangout is calling for Alek Manoah's head. "Cut bait." "Dead weight." "Delaying the inevitable." Their latest piece reads like a termination notice, not sports coverage.
Over a fingernail blister.
This is what they do over there. A guy has a rough spring and suddenly it's time to DFA him, bury him, move on. No patience. No context. Just negativity for the sake of content.
Let's slow down and remember what we're actually dealing with here. Manoah signed a one-year, $1.95 million contract. That's nothing. That's couch cushion money for a major league payroll. If he flames out completely, the Angels lose almost nothing. If he figures it out? They've got a guy who finished third in Cy Young voting in 2022. Ahead of Shohei Ohtani, by the way.
Yes, his final three spring outings were rough. Really rough. But his first two? Five scoreless innings. The stuff was there. Then the blister happened on March 17 and it never got right. That's not a mechanical flaw. That's not his arm falling apart. It's a blister. Pitchers get them. They heal.
Here's what HaloHangout conveniently leaves out: Manoah threw 33 innings at Triple-A Buffalo last year after coming back from elbow surgery and posted a 2.97 ERA. That's not a guy who's washed. That's a guy still finding his way back.
And let's talk about what the Angels actually need. This rotation finished dead last in the American League with a 4.91 ERA in 2025. Last. In the entire league. They need arms, and they need to take chances. Manoah is exactly the kind of low-risk, high-upside gamble a team in their position should be making.
Kochanowicz and Johnson looked great this spring. Love to see it. But acting like Manoah is blocking anyone is silly. He's going on a rehab assignment to Triple-A. If he pitches well, he comes back and adds depth. If he doesn't, the Angels move on. That's how this works.
But that's not a dramatic enough story for HaloHangout. They'd rather tell you the sky is falling.
The guy is 28 years old. Two years ago he was one of the best pitchers in baseball. Writing him off because of a bad stretch in March while dealing with a finger issue isn't analysis. It's just impatience dressed up as tough love.
Give him a few weeks. See what he looks like when the blister heals and he's facing real competition. Then we can talk about whether he belongs. Until then, maybe pump the brakes on the obituary.
