Veteran left-hander Sean Manaea is returning to the New York Mets. Manaea, who turns 33 in early February, has agreed to terms with the Mets on a three-year free-agent contract that will pay him $75 million in total, reports ESPN.
Manaea is coming off a 2024 season with the Mets in which he pitched to a 3.47 ERA/114 ERA+ with 184 strikeouts and an FIP of 3.83 across 32 starts and 181 2/3 innings. Earlier this offseason, CBS Sports ranked Manaea as the No. 9 available free agent in the current class. Here's part of our write-up:
The story has been overshared by now, so we'll keep it brief: Manaea, inspired by watching Chris Sale, dropped his release point and added a crossfire element to his delivery in August. That combination created additional deception that seemed to befuddle hitters -- to the extent that he posted a 3.41 ERA and a 4.24 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his final 11 appearances. Manaea is already nearing his 33rd birthday, and there is a fair amount of risk in assuming he'll continue to be as effective with additional exposure. Still, we feel confident writing that he'll get a raise on the $14 million AAV he signed for last winter.
The one-year, $14 million pact he signed with the Mets last offseason included a player option, which Manaea declined -- wisely, as it turned out. For his career, Manaea has an ERA+ of 102 and a WAR of 15.0 across parts of nine big-league seasons. He figures to again provide the Mets with quality innings in the middle of the rotation, provided he's able to stay healthy.
Manaea joins a new rotation fronted by Kodai Senga that also features some combination of Frankie Montas, Clay Holmes, David Peterson, Paul Blackburn, Griffin Canning and Tylor Megill.