The New York Mets are adding another project to their starting rotation having signed veteran left-hander Sean Manaea to a two-year contract, according to multiple reports on Sunday. The deal also includes an opt-out after the first year.
At 31 years old, Manaea has struggled to rediscover what made him an effective starter with the Oakland Athletics — the team he spent six seasons with from 2016-2021 where he posted a 3.86 ERA.
He went 8-9 with a 4.96 ERA in 2022 with the San Diego Padres before signing with the San Francisco Giants in 2023. With the NL West club, he meandered from the starting rotation and bullpen over his first eight appearances before being made a full-time reliever after posting a 7.96 ERA.
But Manaea was contending with significant changes to his mechanics. After working with the analytic-driven training facility, Driveline Baseball, he began utilizing his torso in his delivery, which significantly upped his velocity.
In just one year, from the 2022 to 2023 seasons, Manaea’s average fastball velocity jumped from 91.3 mph to 93.6 mph, per Baseball Savant. It even topped out at 97 mph. He also added a devastating sweeper last year that saw opponents bat just .140 against while carrying a whiff rate of 35.1%.
A great story of how Sean Manaea in one off-season went from his average fastball velocity being 91.2 mph to topping 97.2 mph 😮💨🔥 as told by @langintots13 pic.twitter.com/4UzvFqX3LY
— Driveline Baseball (@DrivelineBB) December 28, 2023
As he found his footing in San Francisco, he posted a 3.86 ERA in his next 25 relief appearances before getting the call back up to the starting rotation for the final month of the season. In those four starts, he went 2-1 with a 2.25 ERA with 18 strikeouts compared to just two walks.
Carrying that momentum into the 2024 season, Manaea now has an opportunity to prove himself as a legitimate starting pitcher once again in a rotation that president of baseball operations David Stearns has built with significant uncertainties.
The Mets signed Luis Severino — the former Yankee having been hampered by injuries and pitch-tipping struggles that derailed an All-Star career — and acquired Adrian Houser from the Milwaukee Brewers as mid-to-lower rotation options behind Kodai Senga and Jose Quintana. Manaea has an opportunity to prove himself as a viable No. 3 or 4 option if he is able to carry that velocity increase and new sweeper effectively into a more taxing starter’s role full-time.
