Sean Manaea was reintroduced as a Met on Monday afternoon, fresh off of signing a new three-year, $75 million deal that will keep him in Queens through the 2027 season.
Manaea finished the regular season with a career-best 3.47 ERA (among qualifying seasons), striking out 9.1 batters per nine innings as he went on to receive some Cy Young votes.
The 32-year-old lefty certainly had plenty of teams to choose from after he reinvented himself midway through last season, working with pitching coach Jeremy Hefner to develop a Chris Sale-like cross-body delivery.
But at the end of the day, Queens was always where he wanted to be.
“I think just based off of last year with the coaching staff and everything that we had going on, I thought it was a perfect fit,” Manaea said. “I know Talat, my wife now, she loved it on the family side as well, and just organizationally, I thought they did a lot of great things. I learned a lot from Hef and the rest of the staff, and just overall I was very, very happy with my time there.
“When they reached out and said they wanted to reunite, I knew that was kind of like a top priority. After talking with Talat, I think we made the right decision, and just super happy to be back.”
Re-signing Manaea was certainly a key move for the Mets this season, as he’ll once again be a huge piece of the rotation. Of course, the Mets made another fairly significant move this offseason, signing outfielder Juan Soto to a record 15-year deal.
Manaea and Soto were teammates in San Diego, and the lefty knows what kind of impact Soto will bring to Citi Field.
“Juan’s amazing. I played with him in ‘22 with the Padres,” Manaea said. “When that trade happened, it was the first time I’d been on a team that had made a huge trade like that. When he first came over, you could just feel his energy and what he brought to the table and he carried that throughout the rest of the season and the postseason. We have some history and I’m just super happy that he’s on my team and I don’t have to face him anymore.”
With Manaea and Soto in the fold for the Mets, one move that they have yet to make is now making headlines. First baseman Pete Alonso remains on the free agent market, and while his absence would create a sizable void in the Mets’ lineup from a power perspective, Manaea said that he’s very hopeful that Alonso and the Mets will be able to work something out.
“Very much so,” Manaea answered when asked if he’d like to have Alonso back as a teammate. “Whatever happens with Pete, I’m always going to support him, but I would definitely love to have him back on the Mets as our first baseman. Hopefully we can get that done, but whatever happens at the end of the day, I’m going to be happy for him either way.”
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