Alek Manoah’s disaster vs Dodgers could give Angels clear Grayson Rodriguez move

The start of Alek Manoah's tenure with the Los Angeles Angels had been fine before his outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday. Manoah's velocity had been down, along with spotty command, but he's proven capable of eating innings. The problem is that it wasn't passing the sniff test, and it felt like an implosion was inevitable. That's exactly what his outing against the Dodgers was.

Manoah was an unmitigated disaster on Saturday night, giving up eight earned runs in less than two innings of work while giving up six hits and three walks. Even more concerning was the fact that Manoah's fastball velocity was down to 84 MPH.

Under most circumstances, Manoah's outing against the Dodgers is one that typically gets a pitcher optioned the very next day. Considering the circumstances that have followed Manoah since 2023, there's even a case for the Angels to end the experiment entirely and designate him for assignment. Either of those options is certainly what the Angels should do, but it's hard to put much faith in them doing so.

In spring training, it was obvious that Manoah had nothing left in the tank. He posted a 9.39 ERA in a tick over 15 innings pitched with 14 walks. Instead of cutting their losses in March, the Angels shelved Manoah on the IL with a fingernail injury. For that reason, Manoah may get one final opportunity with the Angels.

Grayson Rodriguez's return should force Angels to do the inevitable

Rather than delay the inevitable, LA has the perfect opportunity to end the Manoah experiment now. Grayson Rodriguez is scheduled to start Sunday's game against the Dodgers. Rodriguez's activation from the IL will require a corresponding roster move, and it's clear that move needs to involve Manoah.

The Angels are already 14 games under .500 on the season, and on pace for over 100 losses. The reality is that Manoah isn't going to help turn their season around, and has proven to be ineffective to the extent that he won't be a legitimate trade chip for the Halos ahead of the trade deadline later this summer.

It's bad enough that the Angels have already given as much runway to Manoah as they have since signing him to a one-year deal during the offseason, but it would be even worse if they let the mistake continue to fester.

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