Blue Jays' Alek Manoah: Set for internal brace surgery

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Manoah won't require a traditional Tommy John surgery and is instead slated to undergo a hybrid internal brace procedure Monday to repair the sprained UCL in his right elbow, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider had previously disclosed Friday that Manoah would require a season-ending elbow surgery, but Davidi's report provides more specificity regarding the nature of the procedure. Renowned arm specialist Dr. Keith Meister is set to perform the procedure, which involves replacing the UCL and anchoring the new UCL to an internal brace suture. Though the internal brace procedure typically shortens the length of a pitcher's recovery compared to the 12-to-18-month timeline for Tommy John surgery, Davidi notes that Manoah is still expected to be on the shelf "well into next year." The significant arm injury further muddles Manoah's long-term outlook with the Blue Jays, which had already been somewhat murky following a disastrous 2023 campaign in which he posted a 5.87 ERA and 14.2 percent walk rate over 87.1 innings.