New York Mets starting pitcher Sean Manaea has been shut down for two weeks after experiencing some discomfort in his injured oblique, which will move his timetable for a potential return back to late May or even early June, manager Carlos Mendoza said prior to Tuesday night’s game against the Miami Marlins.
The 33-year-old southpaw initially suffered the right oblique issue just two weeks into spring training, which immediately made his status for Opening Day unlikely. He began throwing in mid-March and has been ramping toward potentially returning somewhere in mid-to-late April.
Over the weekend, however, the area began nagging at him again. He underwent an MRI, which showed inflammation and prompted Manaea to get a PRP injection.
“He’s going to go two weeks of no throwing, and then we have to start building him back up again,” Mendoza said while confirming that potential May or June return.
It leaves the Mets’ rotation on the thin side for a bit longer. The team is already without winter signing Frankie Montas (lat) and last year’s trade-deadline acquisition Paul Blackburn, who was scratched just before the start of the season with right knee inflammation — though he was slated to begin the year in the bullpen and transition back to the rotation once it expanded to a six-man unit later this month.
The five-man, makeshift unit that the Mets have put together for the start of the new season has looked promising enough, at least to keep things afloat until Manaea gets back. Clay Holmes, Griffin Canning, Tylor Megill, and David Peterson all allowed two or fewer earned runs in their first starts of the campaign, while Kodai Senga makes his season debut on Tuesday night in Miami.
Manaea was coming off a resurgent first year with the Mets in 2024, going 12-6 with a 3.47 ERA, 1.084 WHIP, and 184 strikeouts in a career-high 181.2 innings pitched.
