Sean Manaea set to return to Mets rotation with three-year, $75 million contract

Abbey Mastracco and Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News on Dec 23, 2024

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — Sean Manaea, who emerged as the Mets’ ace down the stretch last season and shed tears as his time with the Mets came to an end in October, has reached an agreement to return, a source confirmed to the New York Daily News.

It’s a three-year, $75 million contract for the left-hander, with more than $20 million deferred from 2035-2044. This brings the Mets’ total payroll for 2025 to around $280 million, according to FanGraphs. With more retooling still needed, the Mets are likely to reach the “Cohen Tax” threshold of $301 million, named for owner Steve Cohen.

An emotional Manaea was hopeful for a return to Queens, but wanted to test free agency first. After one of the best seasons of his career, no agent in their right mind would have let him accept his option for 2025.

Manaea, who turns 33 in February, went 12-6 with a 3.47 ERA and 184 strikeouts over a career-high 181 2/3 innings in 2024, and he was particularly dominant as the season wore on. His 110 1/3 innings from June 26 on led MLB pitchers, while his 3.02 ERA over that stretch — a span of 18 starts — was the 11th-best mark in the National League.

He pitched at least 6 2/3 innings in 12 of his final 18 starts, turning into a workhorse for a Mets rotation that was without No. 1 starter Kodai Senga for all but one start in the regular season due to shoulder and calf injuries.

Manaea tweaked his delivery during that dynamic run, using a lower arm slot after observing Atlanta Braves ace Chris Sale during a July 25 game between the teams.

“I don’t really have any control over that right now, and I’m even thinking about it, but, yeah. I mean, I loved my time here, love New York, love the organization of all the people here,” Manaea said after the Mets were eliminated from the postseason in Los Angeles in October.

While his 4.74 ERA in the postseason did not match his regular-season success, Manaea was solid in three of his four playoff starts.

A popular fixture in the clubhouse and with the fans, Manaea’s laidback demeanor and curiosity about the world proved to be a perfect fit in New York. He took the subway to home games, taught chess to minor leaguers in spring training and explored New York’s international cultural scene. His recent wedding featured Francisco Lindor’s daughters, Kalina and Amapola, as flower girls and Manaea often joked about inviting the entire team if he could.

While the Mets may never be able to replicate the incredible chemistry they attributed much of their success to last season, bringing back Manaea undoubtedly helps preserve some of the positive aspects of the culture in the clubhouse.

“Definitely one of the best [seasons] of my career,” Manaea said after Game 6. “Super proud of the work I was able to put in with everybody here on and off the field, and just super proud of this whole year as a whole.”

Manaea returns to a Mets rotation headlined by Senga, along with offseason signings Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes. Montas and Manaea are close friends from their Oakland A’s days, and the right-handed starter was lobbying for the Mets to bring Manaea back before the winter meetings began.

“I hope that’s the case,” Montas said earlier this month. “I hope he can sign with us because definitely, he will be a guy that will help this team to get to the next level and get to the promised land, for sure.”

David Peterson, Paul Blackburn and Tylor Megill are all set to return, while Griffin Canning, who made 31 starts for the Los Angeles Angels last season, signed a one-year deal with the Mets last week, adding to their depth. The Mets plan to use a six-man rotation for parts of the season, depending on their schedule.

Manaea previously pitched for the A’s, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants and owns a 4.00 ERA over nine MLB seasons. A sweeper that Manaea added to his arsenal in 2023 with the Giants has proved vital to his recent reinvention.

The Mets signed Manaea last offseason to a two-year, $28 million contract with an opt-out, which he exercised in November to become a free agent. He also rejected the Mets’ one-year, $21.05 million qualifying offer, meaning the Mets would have received draft pick compensation had he left.

The Manaea agreement continued a busy offseason for the Mets, who signed former Yankees slugger Juan Soto to a record-setting 15-year, $765 million contract earlier his month. Manaea, like Soto, is represented by agent Scott Boras, as is first baseman Pete Alonso. The Mets could look to lock up Alonso next, with several sources throughout the industry expecting the Polar Bear to return to the team that drafted him.

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