The New York Mets are bringing back a familiar face. Early Monday morning, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported lefty Sean Manaea would return to Flushing on a three-year, $75 million deal.
At long last, the Mets’ depleted pitching staff has been boosted following Juan Soto’s record deal.
Manaea signed a two-year deal with the Mets ahead of last season and exercised his opt-out after going 12-6 with a 3.47 ERA. He looked a brand new pitcher after ditching his four-seamer and slider for the sinker and sweeper. The big lefty debuted with Oakland and has also pitched for the Giants and Padres.
In 2018, Manaea pitched a no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox.
In a nutshell, the Mets overpaid Sean Manaea simply because they had to. Kodai Senga and Frankie Montas are the only reliable arms in the rotation, and Senga only pitched 10.1 total innings last year. Manaea, meanwhile, tossed a career-high 181.2 frames in 2024.
BREAKING: Left-hander Sean Manaea and the New York Mets are in agreement on a three-year, $75 million contract, sources tell ESPN. The 32-year-old is running it back with the Mets.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 23, 2024
That’s a lot of innings for someone turning 33 in February. Manaea also suffered a shoulder impingement in 2018 and missed most of 2019 following surgery. And yet, as the Mets’ likely Opening Day starter, he’ll be expected to either meet or surpass last year’s innings. That’s a big ask of any pitcher, let alone one in their early 30s who’s already had major arm surgery.
But as was said earlier, the Mets had no choice but to overpay Sean Manaea. And yet, the deferrals alone—over $23 million—almost make him a steal. Especially with how spread the Mets are with Soto’s new contract.
Steve Cohen and Dave Stearns still have plenty of work to do. The Mets have holes to fill and needs to address.
But between re-signing Sean Manaea and adding Juan Soto after losing Luis Severino to Oakland/Sacramento? The Mets are having themselves quite a winter.
Discussion about this post