As the New York Mets prepare for a new season, left-handed pitcher Sean Manaea is aiming to leave a difficult year behind and return to the form that once made him a key piece of the club’s postseason ambitions. Now entering the second year of his three-year, $75 million contract, Manaea is focused on regaining momentum after an injury-plagued 2025 campaign that didn’t meet expectations.
Just a season earlier, the outlook was very different. During his walk year in 2024, Manaea emerged as one of the Mets’ most dependable arms and played a major role in their deep playoff run. New York advanced all the way to the National League Championship Series before being eliminated by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
One of Manaea’s standout moments that postseason came in Game 3 of the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. In that matchup, he delivered seven strong innings while allowing just one run, helping the Mets secure a 7–2 victory.
However, the 2025 season unfolded quite differently. Injuries derailed much of Manaea’s year, as he missed the entire first half of the season with a strained right oblique and loose bodies in his left elbow. When he returned after the All-Star break, he struggled to regain rhythm and stamina on the mound. Across 15 appearances, Manaea failed to record a single quality start and posted a 5.64 ERA, giving up 38 runs and 13 home runs over 60 2/3 innings.
Now fully healthy, Manaea is trying to reset heading into the upcoming campaign. He spent most of Spring Training working on the backfields before making his first appearance Friday night in a 2–0 loss to the Miami Marlins at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.
Manaea threw three solid innings, with his only mistake coming in the first inning when Connor Norby launched a full-count pitch over the left-field wall for a home run. After that, Manaea settled in, keeping Miami scoreless over the next two innings while striking out one batter and allowing no additional hits.
“I liked what I saw, especially that cutter in to righties,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He had movement just enough to get off the barrel. I like how he used all of his pitches. Three innings of work and 33 pitches.”
Manaea also came away encouraged by how he felt physically, even though he acknowledged there is still room to sharpen his pitches.
“I felt healthy. For the most part, I was throwing strikes,” Manaea said. “It was nice to face some hitters other than your teammates. We were using [my teammates] in a game setting.”
His four-seam fastball, which typically sits in the low 90s, was clocked at 89 mph during the outing. Still, Manaea wasn’t concerned about the early-spring velocity.
“It was a little weird. It’s only Spring Training. I feel healthy. I’m not worried about it,” Manaea said.
Mendoza echoed that sentiment, emphasizing that it was far too early to read much into one appearance.
“I’m not going to make too much out of the first start,” Mendoza said. “I like the movement on his pitches. He says he feels really good physically. I’m not concerned.”