The Mets have agreed to a three-year, $75MM contract with the lefty Sean Manaeaaccording to a report from ESPN’s Jeff Passan. As noted by Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the deal is still pending physical discovery.
Manaea, 33 in February, is ready to sign with the Mets for the second season in a row. In the first week of January earlier this year, the southpaw settled with New York on a two-year contract that guaranteed him $28MM and included an opt-out after the 2024 campaign. It was the second straight winter that Manaea signed a two-year deal with the exit after he signed with the Giants for $25MM guaranteed through the 2022-23 season.
That first contract in San Francisco was put on the heels of a brutal 2022 season in San Diego that saw Manaea struggle to a 4.96 ERA (76 ERA+) with a 4.53 FIP in 158 innings of work. His time with the Giants went better than that; while his 4.44 ERA (94 ERA+) is still below average, he nevertheless entered the postseason boasting strong offense (3.91 FIP, 3.83 SIERA) and a solid run down from September where he posted a 2.25 ERA and 3.21 FIP.
The Mets clearly believed that there were better days in Manaea’s future, and indeed they were. The lefty emerged as a quality option for New York’s middle rotation in 2024 as he posted a 3.47 ERA (114 ERA+) with a 3.83 FIP in a career-high 181 2/3 innings of work across 32 starts. With a career year in the books before his third straight trip to free agency, it appeared Manaea was looking for long-term security. The Mets opted to tag the remainder through the Qualifying Draft earlier this winter, but it was no surprise when Manaea turned down the one-year, $21.05MM offer and hit the open market anyway. After all, the rest came into the winter ranked by MLBTR as the #10 free agent available on our annual list of the Top 50 MLB Free Agents and the #5 starter behind only. Corbin Burns, Blake Snell, Fried Maxagain Jack Flaherty.
At the start of the pre-season, Manaea’s QO preoccupation led to several clubs interested in a veteran midfielder like him turning to other options. The Angels, Dodgers, and Cubs turned in the early days of the offseason to countless free agents as Yusei KikuchiSnell, too Matthew Boyd instead of entering the market for free agents like Manaea, Nick Pivettaor Luis Severino.
That’s not a consideration for the Mets, however, as reuniting with Manaea only costs the hypothetical pick they would have received had he signed elsewhere. That allowed Manaea to get a healthy guarantee despite the small list of teams that have been linked to him this winter: his three-year, $75MM deal exceeds the three-year, $60MM guarantee that MLBTR predicted at the start of the season but that’s probably not surprising given that almost every contract for The starting pitcher exceeded expectations.
In New York, the reunion with Manaea serves as a keystone in the team’s efforts to rebuild its starting rotation behind him, Severino, and Jose Quintana all hit the open market last month. The club adds Frankie Montas again Clay Holmes in their rotation mix earlier this winter, but those two offer little stability given Montas’ struggles in 2025 and the fact that Holmes last started a game in the majors in 2018. Manaea provides that much-needed stability while prowling forward that includes a skilled right hand Kodai Senga and a small southpaw David Peterson.
With options like depth Paul Blackburn, Taylor Megillagain Griffin Canning all on the wings to help cover possible injuries, it wouldn’t be surprising if Manaea’s return would seal the club’s winter turnover. That doesn’t mean the club is completely finished. Even with the 2025 salary cap RosterResource estimates will come in at just $280MM as things stand, that still leaves $56MM of cap space before the Mets match their 2024 figure. That should leave plenty of room for the Mets to sign an existing infield bat to pair with Mark Vientosregardless of whether that ends up together Pete Alonso or another option like Alex Bregman and perhaps strengthen other areas of the roster such as the bullpen or bench.
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