Before the 2024 season, the New York Mets decided to sign Sean Manaea, a left-handed pitcher who has had been an alright pitcher in his career. Manaea ended up being by the end of the season the ace of the Mets pitching staff in 2024. New York decided to go all in on Manaea after that, giving him $75M over three years after the 2024 season. However, the Mets may regret that immensely and be forced to move on.
Sean Manaea Could Be On His Way Out
2024 Was An Interesting Year for the Mets Starters
In 2024, the Mets saw huge contributions from Luis Severino, Jose Quintana and Manaea, all of them being veterans. Severino would go on to have a reliable 3.91 ERA with 161 strikeouts. Quintana essentially was just as reliable, posting a 3.75 ERA in 31 starts with 135 strikeouts. Manaea however was on a different level-especially after the All-Star break. Manaea struck out 184 with a 12-6 record, and a 3.47 ERA. The Mets never truly had an ace in 2024, as Kodai Senga, who was coming off an amazing 2023, started one game before being sidelined for the whole year.
The Mets would also get a big contribution in route to their playoff appearance from David Peterson. Peterson would go on to have a 2.90 ERA in 21 starts and a 10-3 record. Overall though, without a true ace, the rotation in 2024 was amazing. This lead the Mets to sign Manaea to a three year, $75M deal and hope that he could do the same thing he did in 2024. He hasn’t.
Mets Former Ace Cannot Find It
Manaea began the 2025 season on the IL, leaving New York without what they had hoped would be their ace of the staff. The Mets signed three pitchers in the offseason, re-signing Manaea, but also adding Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes. Montas did nothing, starting the year on the IL, and only appearing in nine games, where he had an abysmal 6.28 ERA before the Mets released their terrible signing. Holmes is potentially one of the best signings in Mets history, as he was their pitcher in 2025 and has been the best in 2026 as well, making up for some bad Mets offense in 2026.
Manaea would eventually make his return, but unfortunately struggled to go deep into games. He would strike out a lot of hitters before the 4th or 5th inning, where he would get hit hard. Manaea had a 5.64 ERA. in 2025. Interestingly though, Manaea would struck out 75 and walk just 12. The problem? 62 hits and 38 runs in just 60.1 innings. In 2026, he has been worse, averaging an ugly 89.7 mph on his fastball, which is worse than his career average of 92.1. Manaea in 2026 also has 10 walks in just eight appearances, showcasing his struggles.
Mets May Be Forced to Release Manaea
Now, the Mets are running Manaea out of the bullpen. The rotation has three aces to this point, and a potential stud in Christian Scott. New York just cannot have Manaea in the rotation. This leaves him strictly as a reliever, and the Mets have pretty much been using him for garbage time. Manaea has been almost strictly pitched in blow out games, as he pitched in a 14-2 loss, a 10-5 win, and a 12-4 loss in three out of his last four games.
In these last four appearances, Manaea has allowed 14 earned runs, making himself look pretty terrible. New York was forced to go to Devin Williams after Manea hit a batter in the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies with the bases loaded. Williams would shut the door, but the situation isn’t good for Manaea. The biggest problem here is simple, if the Mets do release him, then they will lose a lot of money. However, with no spot in the rotation for him and the $74M pitcher still struggling out of the bullpen, New York may have no choice.
Main Image: saiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
