Laura Albanese: Mets' Sean Manaea deserves another shot in the starting rotation
Mets' Sean Manaea pitches against the Mariners during the sixth inning at T-Mobile Park on Monday in Seattle, Washington. Credit: Getty Images/Steph Chambers
SEATTLE — The ball broke well out of the strike zone — far enough that Luis Torrens had to reach far to his left to glove it.
“It’s probably” Sean Manaea said, “the best sweeper I’ve thrown all year.”
We could dive into the specifics of all that. How on Monday, the big Mets lefty pounded the strike zone with two hard sinkers before hitting the Mariners’ Luke Raley with a sweeper, or how Raley looked at the 0-and-2 sweeper Manaea threw before that, and let that 78.8-mph offering pass by for a ball.
But you can also pan out and look at the bigger picture, and the juxtaposition between Manaea and Raley in that moment. Then, you can take that and see that Manaea has earned a shot to reenter this rotation.
Manaea, who very much seems to be on the cusp of turning his season around, struck out Raley on that next pitch — a sweeper even further out of the zone than the one before it. But he threw it with conviction — an 80.5-mph pitch that was nearly 5 mph faster than his season average. Raley’s swing, meanwhile, showed nothing but hesitation, his bat speed clocking at a little more than 50-mph — the baseball equivalent of “I’ve made a huge mistake.”
And for all the work that Manaea has done to rediscover the pitcher he was back in 2024, that mental tweak might be among the most significant.
“Throwing it hard and selling it has been really key,” said Manaea, who owned a 6.85 ERA through his first eight appearances and a 2.87 mark over his last four. “When I try to place it and try to make it perfect that’s where I fall into trouble.”
You can’t fault Manaea for his caution. His velocity was alarmingly low throughout spring training and into the first month and a half of the season. Last season was nothing short of hellish — a season derailed by an oblique strain and then further jeopardized by the loose bodies that still reside in his left elbow. He lost his starter’s role before the Mets had played a single game this season, and even then, “he was basically the last guy out of the bullpen,” Carlos Mendoza said, adding that they’ll discuss reinserting Manaea into the rotation.
“He never put his head down,” Mendoza said. “You saw him doing long toss and all the drills and everything the pitching coach put him through and when you see the velo now starting to come up — we know the strike throwing ability, but now the cutter, the sweeper, throwing strikes. That’s the guy that we saw in 2024 and that’s a really good sign.”
There are a few positive takeaways: Though Manaea’s velocity dipped as he tired, he was regularly hitting 93 and 94 mph. He’s starting to introduce a cutter, which is a tantalizing offering.
And on Monday, he increased his sinker usage — a pitch he abandoned last year. He used it 35% of the time against the Mariners, though it’s hardly his best pitch. One possible reason? It tunnels well with his sweeper, creating more deception for a lefthander whose three-quarter arm slot is already a pain for hitters to manage.
“It’s incredibly difficult” to deal with that arm angle, Jared Young said. “He’s been doing it for a long time and that’s for a reason . . . At his best, he’s one of the best.”
Manaea took a two-pronged approach to best attack his early season decline. With assistant pitching coach Dan McKinney, he focused on improving his mobility — “medicine ball stuff, water bag, plyo stuff, just kind of getting my body into good positions and I feel like [because of that the] velo has crept up,” Manaea said.
With pitching coach Justin Willard, he “figured out” the sweeper and added the cutter.
And with himself, he stayed the course — embodying the player that multiple teammates have lauded for never getting too high or too low. “He has the same personality every day,” Freddy Peralta said.
Even when the days are tough, it seems.
“[I’m] just taking it day by day, putting in the work and just building each day and just coming in with a plan, feeling good at the end of each day,” Manaea said. “And slowly but surely, just been feeling really good on the mound.”
He’s been looking good, too: The body language is secure, the focus is apparent, and the sweepers? They’re being thrown with conviction.
Notes & quotes: Francisco Alvarez (torn meniscus) went 2-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI in his rehab game with Triple-A Syracuse. The goal is to have him catch a complete game and then maybe back-to-backs before activating him, Mendoza said . . . Jorge Polanco (ankle) may potentially be activated on Friday; he’ll play in back-to-back rehab games Tuesday and Wednesday before the Mets make a determination. He’ll primarily serve as a designated hitter upon his return as he’ll have to manage his ankle bursitis throughout the season, Mendoza said.
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
