The New York Mets have been trying to get reinforcements for their rotation ever since the offseason started. They knew they were losing Luis Severino and Jose Quintana and had Sean Manaea also set to hit free agency, so they moved quickly to sign Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes to be starters.
Mets re-sign Sean Manaea on $75M deal
After lots of free agent and trade speculation, it was revealed on Sunday that the Mets will be bringing back a star left-hander that increased the staff’s floor and ceiling this past season. They are re-signing Manaea:
“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,” MLB insider Jeff Passan posted on X.
Manaea had one of the finest campaigns of his career in 2024, with a 3.47 ERA in 181.2 frames with the Mets. His strikeout ability is what separates him from the rest and gives him a high ceiling. He fanned 184 batters this year and limited baserunners to the tune of a 1.08 WHIP.
The Mets are slowly building a quality rotation
Manaea will now join Kodai Senga, David Peterson, Tylor Megill, Montas, Holmes, Paul Blackburn, Jose Button, and Griffin Canning in the Mets’ rotation depth chart.
There has been chatter about the Mets cooking a major acquisition via free agency or the trade market, but they have developed enough depth that they can afford to look at their options and wait for a good opportunity.
Still, they will likely need to make at least another major move if they want to compete with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres and other emerging powerhouses in the National League.
Bringing back Manaea was the right move by Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns, though. It wasn’t exactly cheap (although on par with what we have been seeing from the free-agent pitching market), but Manaea had the best floor and ceiling among Mets pitchers hitting he market this year.
