The New York Mets landed the biggest fish in the pond early last week when they signed slugger Juan Soto to a 15-year, $765 million contract to bolster their lineup.
They also had previously signed Clay Holmes and Frankie Montas to bolster their rotation, but they are going to need at least one more starter in order to return to the postseason in 2025 and be a threat to win a World Series title.
Left-hander Sean Manaea is a free agent after a breakout season with the Mets. Ryan Finkelstein of Just Baseball predicts that New York will retain the veteran on a four-year, $84 million deal.
“Sean Manaea is coming off a career-year, where he established himself as the ace of the New York Mets on their deep playoff run to Game 6 of the NLCS. Manaea started that game and struggled as he had clearly run out of gas, after getting pushed more than he ever had in his career,” Finkelstein wrote.
“In the middle of the season, Manaea dropped his arm angle to mimic Chris Sale, and it made him one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball. From June 14th through the end of the season, Manaea led all starting pitchers in innings pitched (121) and in batting average against (.178).”
Manaea went 12-6 with a 3.47 ERA in 32 starts with the Mets in 2024. He also pitched 181 2/3 innings, struck out 184 batters, posted a 1.09 WHIP and a 3.0 WAR.
If re-signed, Manaea could be New York’s No. 2 starter to go next to Kodai Senga, who should be healthy for 2025. It will be interesting to see if New York can keep him around.
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