Sean Manaea
Breakdown
Performance
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March 21, 2026
Headed for bullpen
Manaea will not begin the season in the Mets' starting rotation, although Carlos Mendoza indicated Saturday that the veteran southpaw would be used in a piggy-back role, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.
Analysis
Mendoza didn't specify which starter would get an abbreviated workload to accommodate Manaea, however. Manaea's velocity has been down this spring, and getting used in a long relief role could buy him more time to round into form. That said, his actual Grapefruit League results have been solid as he has a 3.72 ERA and 9:2 K:BB in 9.2 innings. Freddy Peralta, David Peterson, Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes and Kodai Senga will open the season in the rotation.
March 17, 2026
Velocity ticks down again
Manaea struck out four and didn't allow a baserunner over four scoreless innings during Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Marlins. According to Max Goodman of NJ.com, the left-hander averaged 88.3 mph with his fastball and topped out at 89.9 mph.
Analysis
Four perfect frames against most of Miami's likely Opening Day lineup are hard to ignore, but Manaea saw his fastball velocity drop after he averaged 89 mph during his previous spring start last week. The 34-year-old has never been a flamethrower, but he averaged 91.8 mph on his fastball last year and has been over 91 mph in each of the past five seasons. Manaea has indicated that he's not worried about the reduced velocity, but it's worth keeping an eye on as spring training winds down.