Sean Manaea Shines in Mets’ Rotation with Best Performance of the Season

Sean Manaea has turned a corner in what has been a challenging start to the season. After struggling with his velocity during spring training, the left-hander found himself relegated to a mop-up role in the Mets’ bullpen. However, instead of succumbing to frustration, Manaea embraced the grind, putting in significant work with pitching coach Justin Willard. Now, that effort is beginning to pay off.

With an uptick in velocity in recent outings, Manaea has earned the opportunity to step into the Mets’ starting rotation. His progress has not gone unnoticed. “You have to give him credit,” said Carlos Mendoza. “When it was hard for him he was basically the last guy out of the bullpen, and he never put his head down. You saw him doing long toss and all of the drills we put him through. When you see the velo now starting to come up, we know the strike-showing ability, but now the cutter and the sweeper throwing strikes—that’s the guy that we saw in 2024.”

On Monday night, Manaea showcased that potential, delivering his best and longest outing of the season as the bulk reliever. Despite surrendering a solo home run to 20-year-old Colt Emerson in the bottom of the third, he otherwise dominated Seattle’s lineup, allowing just one other baserunner via walk and striking out four over 5.0 innings.

His velocity continued to rise, and he has successfully held opponents to just one run in three consecutive appearances. “I’ve just been taking things day-by-day,” Manaea reflected. “Just building each day and coming in with a plan, and slowly but surely I’ve just been feeling really good on the mound.” As he looks ahead, it remains uncertain whether he’ll take the mound as a traditional starter or continue in a bulk relief role, but one thing is clear: Manaea has positioned himself for another opportunity in the rotation.

Note: This recap is an independently written summary based on publicly available reporting.