Despite the Mets winning on Monday in Detroit over the Tigers, starting pitcher Sean Manaea had another rough outing and continued to look like a completely different pitcher than he was in 2024.
Manaea gave up a home run on his first pitch of the game and went on to allow a total of five runs over 3.2 IP. It's his third straight game without making it through the fifth inning as he's gone 0-1 with a 6.89 ERA over his last seven starts.
With the Mets in a tight playoff race, the team can't afford any more bad outings by starting pitchers.
And it's not just Manaea who's been struggling, following Kodai Senga's disappointing outing on Sunday to the Miami Marlins,manager Carlos Mendoza hinted at a possible change in the rotation. When asked if he views Manaea's spot in the rotation similarly up for discussion as Senga's, Mendoza said both are still part of it.
"They're part of the rotation," Mendoza said. "Our job is to try and find a way to help them. And that's what we'll do and then we'll go from there."
Mendoza added that the Mets need to keep working on helping them return to form, while noting that Manaea's issues are related to him not getting the right amount of elevation his fastball.
"I think the discussion is, 'How are we going to help these guys?,' because they've been right there for us when we need them," Mendoza said. "Manaea was one of them. Senga was obviously down last year but at the beginning of the year. Our job is to continue to go back and look for ways to help these guys.
"Right now, the biggest thing for Sean is he's not elevating the fastball. He's getting hit with it. And obviously not able to use the changeup and sweeper the way he wants to, but it starts with him elevating that fastball — what makes effective last year. And right now he's having a hard time doing that. Our job, either it's him, Senga, and all of those guys, is to continue to support him and try to find a way to help him. Obviously they're frustrated and they know they're better. It's our job to help them."
Manaea was asked about the problems getting his fastball up in the zone, but is still searching for the answers.
"I have no idea," Manaea said. "I don't know, I have no idea. I feel like I'm doing all the right things, but just not working out right now."
He added on the pitch's importance: "It's a big part of a my game, I get a lot of swing and miss up there. When it's a couple of inches below, it gets hit or it's not setting anything else up. So yeah it's pretty huge."
The left-hander has taken a step backwards this season after pitching like an ace down the stretch in 2024. After missing the beginning of the 2025 season due to injury, Manaea returned on July 13 and has gone 1-2 with a 5.60 ERA and 59 strikeouts over nine starts (10 games) and 45.0 IP. Last year, he pitched to a 3.47 ERA and 12-6 record over 32 starts, recording 184 strikeouts over 181.2 IP.
He acknowledged that it's been a disappointing season for him, unable to take his game to the next level, but will continue to work on finding a way to fix it.
"Very, I have high expectations of myself, I know this organization does," Manaea said. "Everyone's pulling their weight, everyone's doing their thing, and then I'm just not. It's very, very frustrating. Wish I had an answer for it, but I don't. I'll figure it out, just don't know when."
He added: "Just stay the course, feel like I have the right routines going. Just trying to control the things that I can control. At the end of the day I just got to execute, just be better."
Mendoza briefly discussed the team's plan for a six-man rotation moving forward earlier Monday, saying David Peterson will start on Friday against the Reds after the team's off day. He did not add any more specifics, but said they could get "creative."
Whether that means something different for Manaea or Senga remains up in the air.
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