The number still jumps off the page. 181.2 innings. A 3.47 ERA. Nearly a strikeout per frame. For Sean Manaea, that 2024 season with the New York Mets felt like a quiet career pivot that suddenly became very loud.
From Calculated Gamble to Rotation Anchor
Before that magical 2024 run, Manaea arrived in Queens as a low-risk bet. The Mets signed the left-hander coming off a 4.44 ERA with the Giants, a pitcher who had bounced between starting and relieving. Useful, maybe. Necessary, even. But foundational? That was harder to see.
Then the season started, and the Mets kept handing him the ball.
Manaea didn’t just hold up. He stabilized the rotation. He dropped his arm angle, trusted his breaking stuff, and attacked hitters with conviction. By October, he wasn’t a back-end arm anymore. He was part of the reason the Mets were still playing, chewing up innings during a National League Championship Series run that felt improbable until it wasn’t.
That performance earned Manaea a multi-year deal heading into 2025, a vote of confidence that made sense on paper and in the clubhouse.
How 2025 Slipped Away
Spring training injuries have a way of flattening momentum, and Manaea’s oblique strain did exactly that. His season never found a clean on-ramp. When he finally returned, the timing was off, the sharpness dulled, and loose bodies in his elbow complicated everything.
The results told the story. A 5.64 ERA across 60.2 innings. Short outings. Missed locations. A pitcher searching for feel instead of imposing it.
At one point, offseason surgery seemed inevitable. Instead, late November brought clarity. No procedure. No cleanup. Just rest, rehab, and a relatively normal winter.
That detail matters more than it might seem.
A Healthy Arm and a Clear Routine
According to Anthony DiComo, Manaea has been throwing and lifting without discomfort, something he hasn’t been able to say consistently in a while. The pitcher himself sounded almost relieved by the simplicity of it.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s a thing of the past,” Manaea said at a Metsgiving charity event. “I don’t feel anything right now, and I haven’t in a few months now.”
For pitchers, health isn’t just availability. It’s rhythm. It’s the ability to build routines instead of constantly adjusting them. The Mets saw what Manaea looks like when his preparation isn’t interrupted. That 2024 version wasn’t an illusion. It was the product of repetition and confidence.
The Stakes Inside a Crowded Mets Rotation
Nothing is guaranteed this time around. The Mets rotation picture is deeper and younger, with Kodai Senga, David Peterson, Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong, Brandon Sproat, and Clay Holmes all in the mix. Manaea isn’t just returning from a down year. He’s defending his place.
That pressure can fracture some pitchers. For others, it sharpens the edge.
At 33, Manaea still misses bats. The strikeout rate never vanished. What disappeared was his margin for error when his body couldn’t cooperate. If his offseason holds, the Mets aren’t hoping for reinvention. They’re betting on restoration.
A Prove-It Season Without the Contract Noise
This isn’t about chasing another deal or rewriting his résumé. It’s simpler than that. Manaea wants to show that the pitcher who anchored a playoff rotation wasn’t a one-year detour.
The Mets know what he can be when healthy. So does Manaea. Now comes the part where the ball leaves his hand and the excuses disappear.