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Olney: Blue Jays could hold back Manoah ahead of playoffs

Alek Manoah Toronto Blue Jays Alek Manoah - The Canadian Press
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The end of this Major League Baseball regular season will have a different feel for the Toronto Blue Jays than years past.

Last season, the Blue Jays were in a playoff race with the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Seattle Mariners that saw the team miss the playoffs by one game. This season, the Jays are currently in the top wild-card spot in an expanded playoff, ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays and Mariners, and six and a half games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles, who are on the outside looking in.

According to FanGraphs, the Blue Jays have a 99.7 per cent chance of making the postseason. While players will be focused on the games left, management could be looking ahead to prepare for the playoffs.

“I believe that decision makers within the Blue Jays organization are thinking big picture because they know that they’re almost certainly going to get in the playoffs,” ESPN’s Buster Olney told TSN1050 on Tuesday. “You know you have a first-round series, and you want to make sure you’re set up for that whether you’re in Tampa Bay, Seattle, or at home.”

Part of the preparation for the playoffs is to do everything possible to ensure that key players are as healthy as possible. Position players like George Springer, Alejandro Kirk, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who have been nursing injuries during the final stretch, could be key for a long playoff run.

Olney believes one of the main focuses will be on managing all-star pitcher Alek Manoah’s workload within the final 15 games.

“I think they’ll pull the reins back on Manoah, protect him, maybe back him off a little bit,” said Olney. “I’m not saying they won’t start him [but] maybe if he’s in a situation where you can get him out after 80 pitches, you do that.”

 

ContentId(1.1851130): Olney: I would go Gausman, then Manoah and then Stripling for the playoff rotation

 

Manoah is pitching in his second major-league season and has a 14-7 record with a 2.40 ERA in 29 starts. The 24-year-old has already thrown 72 more innings and appeared in nine more games than he did in his rookie year.

As part of MLB's new expanded playoff system, the first round will be a three-game series all in one location. This short series heightens the need to set up the pitching rotation in an order that gives the Blue Jays the best chance to win.

“I would go [Kevin] Gausman [as the] No. 1 because he’s a veteran guy and he’s earned that,” suggested Olney. “I love Manoah in the two spot because of his level of confidence. With the Yankee teams I covered back in the 90s, they always loved to match up Andy Pettitte in the second game because manager Joe Torre used to say that the second game is the most critical.”

“[Third] I’d go with [Ross] Stripling because in his 10 starts since July 8, he has a 2.53 ERA and has been pretty consistent. He has eight straight starts of two runs or less, so I’m going with that.”

Missing from that list is right-handed pitcher Jose Berrios. The 28-year-old was the Blue Jays major acquisition during last season’s trade deadline and signed a seven-year, $131 million contract extension during the off-season.

Berrios has been inconsistent this season, with an 11-5 record with a 4.99 ERA in 29 starts.

“When I look at the common denominator with some of the success Berrios has had lately, it’s when they’ve given him extra rest,” explained Olney. “So, maybe you talk to him and tell him that they’re going to set him up to potentially start Game 1 of the next series coming out of that first round.”